Acid attack is one of the most brutal, devastating and horrific experiences that anyone has to endure. In recent years, the number of acid attacks in Nepal has been growing alarmingly. According to the latest reports, there is an average of 40 incidents of acid attacks in Nepal every year.

The most recent incident of acid attack as of this writing occurred at Sitapaila, Kathmandu. The victim, Pabitra Karki who is 22 years of age, had acid thrown at her when she stepped out of her house and was on her way to buy some essentials. The perpetrator was her ex-employer who ordered one of his employees to throw acid on her. Another case in recent memory is of Muskan Khatun, who was 15 when the incident occurred, who was attacked by the 16 year old friend of the person whose romantic proposal she had rebuffed. Apart from jilted lovers attacking women, domestic disputes also have lead to acid attacks. For instance, Jenny Khadka and Ram Raja Thapa were attacked with acid by their respective spouses.

Some of the reasons for these attacks are rejection of marriage proposals, refusal to enter into a relationship or for leaving an existing relationship. These types of attacks also stem from the mentality that if a man cannot have a woman then no other man can either. This may be because men cannot accept the fact that a woman has the right to make decisions for herself. We are raised in a society where men have always been placed in a higher position than women. In our society, women are judged based on their appearance. Hence, acid attacks are perpetrated to disfigure the women. This not only leads to physical harm but also scars the victims mentally for life.

Acid attack survivours have to go through the years of surgeries till they find some sort of normality. They are denied employment because of their appearance. Not only do the acid attack victims lose their identity, but its a horrific crime that stays with them for the rest of their lives. Acid attacks on women are also done to dehumanize them. Apparently it goes well in our country since some people even blame the women, saying that she might have done something to provoke the attacker.The psychological and social aspects of acid attacks makes it one of the most horrific things that anyone could ever do to someone.

One of the main reasons for these types of acid attacks is the fact that acid is readily available for purchase. The access to acid is extremely easy and cheap. The attacker of Pabitra Karki got the acid from a hardware shop, whereas Jenny Khadka’s husband got the acid from a jewelry shop. With such easy access to acid, these types of attacks have become more common.

In India, there is a law regulating the sale of acid only to people with valid identity cards issued by the government. It is time for a similar kind of law to be implemented in Nepal as well, if we cannot ban the sale of acid outright. But this might also be just a temporary measure.

There are also laws put in place to punish these kinds of horrendous acts. According to the 2017 Criminal Code, an attacker can be sentenced to jail for up to 8 years and fined a maximum of NPR 500,000 if the victim’s face is injured in an acid or any chemical attack. They can also face 3 years in jail and be fined NPR 300,000 if other body parts of the victim are injured. But despite the law being there, this hasn’t stopped people from using acid as a weapon.

Also, I am in no way trying to deny the existence of acid attacks on men or lessen the severity of these types of attacks on men. They are just as evil and should be condemned in the harshest ways possible. But the fact remains that in South Asian countries, especially, countries like Nepal and India, the majority of survivors are females. This is the reason that acid attacks are linked to gender based violence as well.

This brings us to the final piece of the puzzle. What might be the most likely way to stop these kind of attacks then? I believe that the answer lies in respecting each other’s decisions. We need to learn to listen to each other more and treat each other with respect and kindness. We need to understand that whatever we say or whatever we demand might not be acceptable to others and others might not agree with all our views, and we need to be okay with that. We need to accept that things don’t always go our way, no matter how much it matters to us. We also need to understand that all our actions have consequences, which may also harm other people. If we keep these things in mind and accept the facts, the heinous crimes like acid attacks might eventually stop. This is all we can hope for now.