“He understood the kind of pain I was in. He understood what I had been going through.”
In 2005, when Delhi resident Laxmi* was 15 years old, she turned down a marriage proposal from a 32 year old man.
*Goes only by her first name.
Slighted by her rejection, the man (with help from a friend) attacked Laxmi while she was out shopping one day. They poured acid on her face and arms.
Acid attacks are increasingly common in South Asia, as a means to inflict violence on women. With dangerous acids available readily for as little as 30 cents per bottle, it is an easy weapon to acquire.
Pictured above: Haleema Abdul-Ghafar, 36, Islamabad.
Paula Bronstein / Via Getty Images
More often than not, such attacks are carried out by jilted lovers who, once rejected, seek their revenge by attempting to destroy the woman's beauty.
According to a commission issued by an Indian court, acid attacks are tried as premeditated attacks. "The acid is usually thrown at victim's face, the perpetrator wants to disfigure the victim and turn them into monster."
Pictured above: Saira Liaqat, 22, Islamabad.
Paula Bronstein / Via Getty Images
