“Empowerment will end violence against women” says acid survivor
“Empowering women in regards with earning and making decisions in family matters will help bring and influence change of mindset and thus pave the way to prevent and end violence against women,” says acid attack survivor Nurun Nahar Begum.
It is the women who have to come forward themselves and raise voice in order to put an end to violence against women in society, she asserts.
Nahar also shares her tale of sufferings and how she overcame it.
Back in 1995, when Nahar was only 15 fell victim to an acid attack after refusing to establish romantic endeavors with a boy named Jasim. The rejection affected 17-year old Jasim gravely, also making him feel embarrassed in front of his friends. One night, Jasim entered Nahar’s house with five or six boys and threw acid on her body.
The 36-year-old acid survivor says she now regrets having not talked to the boy directly explaining her situation as she believed the situation could be handled better through empathetic explanations. After the incident, Nahar was isolated from society. But later, she was introduced to prominent women’s rights activist Nasreen Pervin Huq as her counsellor who gave her courage and confidence to face the world.
Since then, Nahar have been working with acid survivors and advocates all survivors to come forward and raise their voice against violence against women.
Nahar is currently pursuing her Master’s degree and runs her family’s expenditures with pride.
According to Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF), a significant portion of attacks occur when a woman exercises her decision-making authority by rejecting a marriage or love proposal. Most acid attacks are perpetrated by the people known to the victims and the attacks are often triggered by refusal to sexual advances or marriage proposals or failure to pay dowry or by land disputes.
In 2015, there were 59 incidents of acid attacks with a number of 74 survivors.
