Safiye Qarebagi – April 25, 2018
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From a Protest Against Acid Attacks in Iran, in Front of the Parliament in Tehran, 2014 |
We had not yet found the courage to look at the burned face of Masoumeh Jalilpour when the news of a second acid attack became the headline: “Another woman in Tabriz fell victim to an acid attack.” Reading the report, each word burns through your soul, scorching you to the bone. Masoumeh’s suitor, when faced with her rejection, turned to acid. The injuries caused by acid are so excruciating that the cutting of Masoumeh’s fingers with a machete is lost amid the lines set ablaze.
Maryam Nejati-Benab, however, was attacked with acid by her husband—the very person who was supposed to provide love and peace. Yet now, not only has he burned her life away, but with constant phone calls asking, “Did you burn well?” he pours salt on the acid itself. I do not know whether to be relieved that Maryam’s eyes were not damaged, or worried at the thought of the mirrors that will betray her. The image of faceless faces will not let me go. A wound that rises with every moment and every blink reminds us that acid does not only burn faces—it burns lives.
Sometimes violence exposes itself so nakedly that one begins to doubt the meaning of other forms of violence—so atrocious that one must feel ashamed of humanity itself. Acid attacks are among the most brutal forms of violence, most often committed by those closest to the victim. A violence that disrupts the victim’s individual and social life, demanding long treatments and repeated surgeries; a catastrophe that is usually used as an act of vengeance.
Reports from both victims of the acid attacks in Tabriz indicate prior threats and violence. Threats that were not taken seriously, that no one pursued. The reality is that forms of violence have become so normalized that the victim, defenseless, is forced into silence and endurance. Otherwise, how can one withstand intimidation and terror? How can one turn a blind eye to such blatant violence that inevitably leads to disaster?
Speaking out against violence and protesting it is the first step to confronting it. Narrating violence not only illustrates its dimensions but also prevents its normalization and strengthens determination to resist it and support victims. Furthermore, changing laws to prevent violence and protect victims is the most necessary step. Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice President, regarding the recent acid attacks in Tabriz, announced a request to intensify punishment for perpetrators and to impose restrictions on access to acid, stating that “evidence and indications show the inefficiency of current laws in this area.” It seems that revising and amending the laws related to acid attacks is the least that can be hoped for as a form of remedy.