While curbing the rampant sale of acid, the state must also take the onus of rehabilitating the victims
Economic reforms and greater social licence have not served to dilute the misogynistic attitudes that largely define gender relationships here. Two decades ago, before the foisting of the neo-liberal social and development module, the high incidence of dowry deaths and other crimes against women, rooted in an unequal gender equation, occupied a substantial amount of news space. Private TV news channels were yet to make their entry. Acid attacks on females were common. One incident, involving a comely girl, who had acid thrown on her face by vagrants, in the guise of sadhus, in Garhmukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, became a cause célèbre after the media took it up in a big way. The victim, Anshu Saksena, who lived in the pilgrim town with her parents and younger siblings, was reported to have rejected the advances of the youths. They retaliated by climbing over the wall of her house one night and throwing acid on her face while she lay asleep in the courtyard. Family members slept nearby.
That act of vendetta completely spoilt her life, rendering it abnormal. The assailants escaped and were never caught. Though sustained media coverage attracted some financial and medical help, it was never enough to restore her to normalcy, with one side of her body also having been disfigured badly. Only the best reconstructive surgery in the world could have helped her to a degree. But she had no access to it. Her case soon faded away from memory as other gruesome attacks on females, revenge killings, dowry deaths, enforced prostitution, rape and mutilation continue to occur in an unending spiral of violence and cruelty. More money is visible now, and educational and work opportunities are better but misogyny continues to shape attitudes to females. Rapes, murders, acid attacks and disfiguring of females are routine occurrences.
Women's faces and bodies have been the focus of critical scrutiny since the dawn of civilisation. The cosmetic industry thrives on it. The face that launched a thousand ships, Helen of Troy's, led eventually to the epic war between the Greeks and the Trojans. It usually boils down to a face, and by extension, body, evoking desire or derision in less sensitive men, who thereby grade, judge and decide female worth. Her economic status is another criterion. Today, the term ‘faceless' has an ominous portent in the wake of the media documenting numerous cases of acid attacks on women's faces in particular, by vengeful assailants, who are commonly spurned suitors, sexual predators, erstwhile spouses and their ilk.
The frequency with which these crimes seem to occur — with about 1,000 incidents reported in a year — as much as the escape routes available to perpetrators of such gruesome acts, raises serious questions about family values and upbringing. Why are young men — most males who attack females seem to be young — so hostile to womenIJ Is their hostility a spillover from the attitudes prevalent at homeIJ Is social frustration the trigger for such crimesIJ Or do they owe to economic factorsIJ Are dysfunctional families the root causeIJ Is it essentially an ugly attempt to exercise controlIJ And so the spate of questions seek to provide answers to why females are targetted with impunity in revenge acts.
The Supreme Court order, directing the Government to regulate over-the-counter sale of acid, awarding a three lakh rupees compensation to each victim and recommending a minimum 10-year sentence, is viewed by victims as being too lenient. Indeed, the compensation amount proposed by the apex court cannot meet the astronomical cost of reconstructive surgery, which runs into several lakhs if conducted by competent surgeons. It is a tiresome and protracted exercise.
Badly ravaged faces scar the psyche, which may never recover from the trauma. It is a terrible struggle for victims to take the world head on. The natural reaction is to retreat from public view and cloister oneself. Some brave survivors of acid attacks are increasingly engaging in activism, supported by human rights groups. One quotes the view of Ms CJ Pragya, victim of a disfiguring acid attack, who now works with an NGO, Stop Acid Attacks, that lobbies for the rights of victims. While welcoming the apex court verdict, she voices some reservations. She doubts whether the State Governments will curb the sale of acids, as ordered by the Supreme Court. Her comments on the compensation amount are more explicit:“...but I am a bit disappointed by the compensation amount being directed. The initial treatment cost itself exceeds Rs 15 lakh. Then there is the recurring cost of reconstructive surgeries and medicines. Three lakh rupees is too little to cover the expenses of hapless victims. What I demand is that state should adopt the acid survivors and should compensate them with all the treatment/medical costs, legal assistance and rehabilitation. After theyr ecoverfrom initial treatment state should guarantee a source of income by providing them with employment as per their capacity.” And, indeed, rehabilitation of victims is the biggest challenge.