What is your face to you? Is it a source of beauty or just reflection of who you are? A face not only distinguishes you from others but it also portrays your social identity. Seeing a person’s face you can tell which age group or gender it belongs, whether he/she resembles her mother or father. A person’s face can tell you whether the person is Asian, Black or White. A certain kind of social stratification is done in societies based on person’s appearance. A person’s personality and how he/she has been brought up in society can be easily told by by viewing their looks. Like for example one can easily associate a girl with well-applied makeup, wearing a black veil to be an Arab girl belonging to a respectable, rich Arab family and at the same time recognize a brown colored person to be Asian.
But what if one day your face changes? It is no longer the face of the same old you. It no longer reflects your identity. In that case, not only you fail to recognize yourself but also the society disowns you. The society throws you apart and starts labeling you as a deviant. They also keep a distance from you.
Similar is the experience for many women who fall victim to domestic violence. Shouting, calling bad names can be disturbing but not as threatening as being physically abused. Sometimes woman are harmed to such an extent that the dominant male figure decides to steal away the woman’s identity by destroying her face. The acid or kerosene is usually thrown on their face to kill their beauty. As the acids are corrosive it results into complete disfiguration and often immobility. In some cases, person also experiences loss of sight, hearing and speech. Some extreme cases can also result in death.
Fakhra Yonus, a Pakistani woman committed suicide as she was so much disheartened by the acid attack on her by her husband Bilal Khar. The acid thrown on her face shattered her beauty and left her mentally shaken.
Another true story of Naseera Bibi, a 23-year-old woman talks about her brutal experience. She says that while she was sleeping, a bottle of acid was poured on her. She could feel the acid melt her skin, ate through her nose and both her eyes. She believes her husband was the culprit as she remembers his voice when he was throwing acid on her. However, with her face being physically damaged she now feels that she is a burden to the society.
In sociology we know that in the male dominating society, people usually blame the woman even though it is not her fault. The society refuses to accept them and makes it difficult for them to fit in and live a normal human life. However, there are few groups of people in the society who go against the required norms, break the conformity and help these domestically victimized women. They share a different viewpoint than the majority of others.
One such example is of Mussarat Misbah who is a makeup artist, owner of Depilex beauty salon and single mother but also she is a Philanthropist who has set up Smile Again Foundation in Pakistan. In this institute she not only gives shelter to female survivors of acid and kerosene oil burns but also sends them abroad for reconstructive plastic surgery. Also providing them with psychological/psychiatric support with vocational training she makes them stand on their feet and good enough to earn for their own living. We want every woman to look beautiful and for her to smile again, says Musarrat Misbah. Many of these burnt female survivors are working in Depilex beauty salon, having attained a beautician’s degree they are now helping beautify customers who come to their salon.
Social Awareness regarding the acid attackers is gradually spreading in societies. There are various awareness campaigns set by NGO’s. Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) is also now organized in Pakistan and is helping the burnt survivors with their reconstructive surgeries, catching the culprits and educating people in those societies about the traumas of these issues. They have made various documentaries regarding this subject and are making a point to personally spread the message in most of the educational institutions so that this topic is heard, considered and solved upon.
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