written by Sanjana Gudivada
Imagine running your daily errands while walking down the street or even just walking to school and suddenly, you feel a liquid splash on your face. You think the liquid is scathing hot water and don’t worry too much about it, but the metallic smell makes you realize that it’s actually acid. For a lot of people, this isn’t something they fear, but for a lot of girls in India, it’s the reality.
Acid attacks are a form of violence in which acid is thrown at a person’s (most often a female’s) face, usually as retaliation for rejection (Action Aid UK). These attacks often result in disfiguration of the face and are done to shame women. Laxmi Agarwal is an acid attack survivor and well-known advocate for the banning of acid sales in India. Her story was so inspiring that Bollywood director Meghna Gulzar even made a movie called “Chappak” centered around her experience. After taking her case to court and getting her perpetrators punished, Agarwal also fought for justice for many other victims by fighting for the regulation of acid sales (Sruthi, 2019). Following her writ petition in 2006, acid attacks became punishable by law and strict restrictions were placed on the sales of acid in 2013 under Section 326 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (Hindustan Times, 2020).
Despite requiring proper licensing from both seller and purchaser, the sales of acid in India are not regulated and the cases of acid attacks keep rising and police complaints keep piling up. According to the National Crimes Record Bureau, the number of victims of these attacks has risen from 280 in 2014 to its peak of 314 in 2017, even after the passing of the law. Correspondingly, the number of people charge-sheeted (charged with a crime on paper) dropped from 190 in 2014 to 140 in 2018. These attacks, however, are only the cases that were reported to the police.
With the rise in cases and lack of convictions, it’s obvious that sales of acid in India are being handled carelessly despite the passing of a law that restricts it. In order to find out just how simple it is to purchase a bottle of tezaab or acid, Deepika Padukone—the lead actress in the movie Chappak— and her crew carried out a social experiment where they went on a sting operation in Delhi, posing as different people. They went to stores and asked the shopkeeper for a bottle of acid and most of them, without asking for an ID, sold them one. There was the exception of one shopkeeper who refused to sell the bottle without a proper ID, but in one day, the crew managed to purchase 24 bottles of acid without any trouble. This social experiment pointed out just how easy it is to purchase acid without fearing legal consequences.
Implementing laws is one step, but enforcing them is what really matters. The unchanged number of acid attack convictions in India directly correlates to the inefficient enforcement of licensing for acid purchases. It’s been 7 years since the passing of Section 326 (A) in the Indian Penal Code which kindled hope for women in India. However, without proper enforcement the law is futile. The day Indian authorities actually punish those responsible for acid attacks and enforce the requirement of ID for acid purchases more strictly, is the day even a little bit of change can be made to protect women in India.
Sources:
Cover Photo sourced from USA Today, Courtesy of Stop Acid Attacks
Comments