Almost 10 years ago, a young Pakistani woman was held down by her mother-in-law while her husband and father-in-law threw acid on her. Some 150 operations later, Bushra Shafi is working as a beautician in a hair salon in Lahore, started by a hairdresser who was moved to help victims of acid attacks when one of them came into her salon and asked simply: "Can you make me beautiful again?"
Kendra King's insight:
It saddens me to see how easily these women are attacked and how their lives are “destroyed.” As the author mentioned it is just “assumed…..men will get away with acid attacks.” Plus, to make matters worse, the acid is a simple commodity to obtain. I always knew that the treatment of women in Asia and the Middle East was horrible. So as sad as I am about these attacks, I am not actually overly surprised that the lack of crime enforcement exists. What shocks me more is the lack of support these women have after being attacked. Culturally, Asia is very family oriented. I would have through that the family would help a family member during their time of need, but at the article mentioned the victims are often shunned by their families to “live in isolation.” In some ways, this disturbers me even more than the attack themselves.
On the other hand, I am amazed to see the kindness of Musarat Misbah. Rather than turn her backs on these strangers, she is dedicating her career towards them. Even when some of her customers disagree with the new beauticians, she stands by them. In fact, Ms. Misbah educates the customers about how little bit of a “choice” the beauticians have. In order for society to change, some sort of dialogue needs to occur. Having the victims of this attack welcomed back into a part of society is a good first step towards it. Furthermore, until the society can actually change, having this support system is critical for these women. I hope one day the actions of Misbah will be replicated on a wider state level.