Hisses of pain emanate from every room in the Burns Centre at Civil Hospital, Karachi, where women – their faces swollen, the skin peeling off, bandaged and unable to speak – lie in sterile beds, with a handful of attendants flitting around them.
Among them is Naseeban Maher, the 20-year-old girl whose husband doused her with petrol and lit a match at home in Daurehi Mahar village of Shaheed Benazirabad district, formerly known as Nawabshah.
“She is burnt from head to toe. There was nothing left of her clothing,” her mother, Sabra, says. When Naseeban’s father moves to the side, Sabra quietly gestures towards her daughter’s breasts and pelvic area. “This is burnt too.”
Naseeban was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit on Wednesday, which her mother assumes the doctors decided to do, based on her level of pain. Two people from their village showed up at the hospital on Wednesday, carrying bags of clothes and other essentials for the family.
The Burns Centre is located in Saddar, where busy women in their 20s walk in and out of the neighbouring medical school, or go about shopping in the nearby markets.
Naseeban’s movement, though, is confined to her bed. It will take her a long time to recover.
The attack
Naseeban was married for two years to Dur Mohammad, a maternal cousin. “He was a gunda, a mawali (a thug) from the start,” she said. “He was unemployed, he did nothing all day.”
Her life as a married woman was rife with abuse. “He once blackened my face and took my jewellery away,” she said. “I don’t know why.” When she had had enough, she left for her mother’s.
While Naseeban has filed for divorce, the issue is complicated further by the fact that the family is apparently indebted to Dur Mohammad for their house. The family’s poverty can be measured by the fact that Naseeban made a living by working as a farmhand, earning between Rs200 to Rs220 a day.
At around 8 pm on Monday, Naseeban’s estranged husband Dur Mohammad, his father Ata Mohammad, his uncle Adil Waheed and cousin Jabbar entered her house. “He asked me to return with him but I refused,” she said. “My parents were asleep. He covered me with petrol then and lit a match.” She was transferred from Nawabshah to Civil hospital in an ambulance.
Her body has been burnt about 30 per cent, including her arms, chest and legs. “This hurts,” she says, pointing to her face. “But at least my hair and face were spared.”
At 20, Naseeban has her life ahead of her. “My parents are by my side.” She believes her husband is in a lock-up and says he has not attempted to visit her. Her father, Maroof Maher, said they had been in touch with a centre for women run by Naseem Mastoi, their only option as poor people.
There have been a number of acid and petrol attacks in Sindh recently. On Monday, a nine-year-old child, Abrar Shaikh, was attacked with acid in Shaheed Fazil Rahu taluka of Badin. On February 1, a 30-year-old girl from Quetta was burned by her husband in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Maymar, and two girls were attacked in Surjani Town in Karachi last December.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2012.
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Sadly, she would be forced (and expected) to forgive the beast.
only one solution rid the society off acid attacks, the attacker should also be burnt with acid the same way.
This is sad!
How come none of the religious leaders come out and make statement muslims are killing muslims in Pakistan but you never see or hear from religious leaders going on the protest and honestly when was the last time any one in Pakistan hear the Maulvi's talk against the people that are killing people and also men burning their wife's or people throwing acid on women is this what Islam teaches I am amazed how come no one stand up against this even the media and the super hero chief Justice, every one knows how corrupt the leaders are it is time to stop all this if we want a Islamic society then there should be justice for all, and every one should be allowed to practice their religion with out the fear of getting killed.Respect all and care for women and older people educate all then we will have a Islamic society.
These so called husbands should not be spared.