Acid attack

"Acid throwing is a part of the broader (sickeningly regular) phenomenon of honor killings, which are, quite literally, the killing of women and men to restore “honor,” usually for the transgression of traditional values and social and gender norms. Like honor killings, acid attacks are about the restoration of masculine monopoly on social, political, and economic control and power. In Pakistan, patriarchy is perpetuated by religious and tribal ideology. Acid throwing dem- onstrates ideology at its most extreme. Women who are attacked with acid (or killed for “honor’) are usually those who transgress gendered norms—women who divorce abusive husbands, reject traditional dress, exert independence from men, or show any manner of “immorality” as defined by men (Women Without Borders 2010). This form of violence against women in Pakistan takes place in the context of widespread domestic abuse—8o percent of wives in rural Pakistan fear physical violence from their husbands, while so percent of urban. women have experienced domestic abuse (Toosi 2010). Yasmeen Rehman, a prominent women's advocate and parliamentarian, stated that domestic abuse in Pakistan is so engrained that it can be equated with habit (Toosi 2010). As a tool of masculine dominance, acid throwing is ideal. The physical disfigurement from acid burning is important. Survivors, wearing the scars of their attacks, are further violated through ostracism and shame within their community and vulnerable to further violent attacks (Women Without Borders 2010). Like honor killings, which end a woman's life, acid scars disable and remove women’s ability to be independent and thus to transgress norms, subduing and subordi- nating them. Depending on the extent of their injuries, women may be unable to work. Furthermore, the disfigurement relegates women back into the private and invisible realm of their traditional gender role, reinforcing men’s domi- nance of the public sphere and their monopoly on social, political, and economic agency. The permanent and public nature of the injuries from acid throwing allows for perpetrators to tangibly and visually validate their actions and rein- force their masculinity within their peer and social contexts. An acid survivor is a permanent reminder of the violent perpetrator’s dominance."