April 2014,acid throwing attacks in society during the workshop and seminar

April 2014

The Human Rights Activist Mubashir Bhutta Advocate delivered speech and organized protest against the acid throwing attacks in society during the workshop and seminar on Banking Laws ,The government is not serious about curbing the rise in acid attacks on women and must act swiftly to control the sale of dangerous chemicals which are being used to disfigure or even kill them,

“Seriousness is not seen on the part of government in handling the issue“People are dying, but government is  not worried about it. Think of people who are losing their lives every day. Girls are being attacked every day in different parts of the country, throwing acid with the intention to maim, disfigure or even kill the target – occurs in many countries but is most common in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India where male domination of social structures persists. Around 1,500 acid attacks are reported globally each year, 80 percent of them on women, according to the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International, which says this is a gross under-estimate of the real total as most victims are scared to speak out. Many of these attacks were acts of revenge because a woman had spurned sexual advances or rejected a marriage proposal, the study said. Experts say the attacks are often driven by the mentality “If I can’t have you, no one shall.”

Activists and victims have long called on the authorities to regulate the sale of locally produced household cleaners, which contain highly concentrated acids and are easily and cheaply available in local markets across the country. Acid is increasingly being used as a weapon like a gun, they say, but there are no laws licensing those who buy and sell these deadly chemicals, which include neat hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid.