News
A Brave Face - Bangladesh
This short documentary gives the viewer a compelling insight into the horrors of acid violence in Bangladesh. It highlights the words of several survivors, starting with the story of Hasina (pictured above) who currently works within the legal unit at the ASF centre in Dhaka; Durjoy, a young child who at one month old was fed acid by his aunt; and Fowzila, a survivor who has been part of the ASF from the very early days, overcome by many challenges speaks of her onward life.
The documentary goes further to show the complications within the legal system, when it comes to a victim prosecuting their own husband or relative, and the growing challenges amongst the young children who also come under the firing line. 6 year old Sheema (pictured below), was attacked by her own father simply because Sheema was not the baby boy he had wanted. As Monira Rahman fittingly explains, “Women and girls are so cheap in this society, so they can destroy them, they can throw them out… Often these young children are just victims of the cruel mentality of the adult man”
To view the documentary click on the following link: Bangladesh, A Brave Face
A Brave Face
Fozila was attacked because she refused a marriage proposal. Hasina was set upon after an argument over a bucket of water. Two women in the seething Bangladesh capital Dhaka whose lives changed in a blinding flash. They were attacked with acid.
Last year in Bangladesh there were 179 recorded cases of acid attacks. Hydrochloric and nitric acid are cheap and readily available – used by the gallon in the grimy jewellery workshops in the backstreets of the city. In the wrong hands though, it can be devastating. Eating quickly through skin and bone and doing irreparable damage. The victims are targeted usually over land disputes or spurned advances.
And while women are the main targets of a despicable crime, children – even babies – are also often in the line of fire, attacked for being born female or boys splashed with acid because of petty inter-family jealousy.
In a powerful and confronting report South Asia correspondent Sally Sara investigates acid attacks in Bangladesh and asks what’s being done to arrest this shameful phenomenon.
Sara discovers Bangladesh is trying to reform itself. Police have been told to crack down on the acid throwers, and the death penalty has been introduced. The message is that these attacks should no longer be considered just family business.
‘Our face is our identity. When it is changed our whole identity is changed. Women and girls are so cheap in this society, so men can destroy them’.
Monira Rahman, Acid Survivors Foundation.
In a society that shuns people with disabilities it would appear impossible for some of these women to survive let alone prosper but some do through remarkable strength and determination. They have landed good jobs and now can afford to live independently in the city, building a new life they may have only dreamed of in their villages.
They’re sustained by a new self belief, drawing courage and confidence from an inner beauty.
‘Beautiful is what’s inside, what’s there in your heart. My heart is beautiful. I can feel that.’
Hasina Akter, Acid Survivor.
ABC News, Sally Sara August 2009
Posted on September 03rd 2009 by Test Member in Media coverage
