Destroyed lives

How fragile is the male ego? How easy it is to mortify a man with a rejection? How cruel can be the response! A thwarted overture of love can end up with the utter ruin of a woman's life. Acid attacks, still very much rampant in our country today, prove just that. A 17-year-old young girl from the capital became the latest victim; her visage and life irrevocably disfigured.

This is not hyperbole but the ugly face of human nature. Jilted lovers not immersing themselves in sad songs but rather hitting the bottle of a fatal kind. If rape is about suppressing the woman and exercising control over her, acid attacks are about hurting the woman's external self. Beauty is not skin-deep but ask acid attack survivors and you'll know what a Herculean task it is for them to regain confidence and step back into the world. Even as we stand at the doorstep of another new year, such attacks continue to take place, the lethal chemical compound leaving behind deformities and killing lives, confidence, and futures.

The schoolgirl who was recently attacked in Dwarka was apparently friends with the accused. The attack was not a crime of passion but rather a meticulously planned plot to take revenge. The attacker colluded with two friends and purchased the acid from a well-known ecommerce platform, as per the Delhi Police. He even created an alibi to protect himself before perpetrating the attack.

How many attacks will it take to stop the sale of acid? How many more lives will be destroyed before we can show zero tolerance to this most ghastly and violent crime against women? In 2013, the Supreme Court had banned over-the-counter sale of acid, except for certain uses. The apex court also directed state governments to issue acid-sale licenses to only a few sellers. Acid would be sold only after verification of a valid ID proof and details of buyer would have to be maintained. However, in spite of this directive, acid is still very easily available everywhere. I have had multiple maids suggesting use of acid to clean stubborn stains. It's purchase as simple as buying groceries in some neighbourhood stores. And now it's available online! I just purchased an ointment for pain relief for my mother on an online platform, for which I had to provide information to a doctor over a call. It's unfathomable that an innocuous purchase of medicines or ancillary medical items has strict protocols but the purchase of a life-threatening liquid happens with no inspection. Unicorn and decacorn online startups have much to answer for if this is indeed their level of product scrutiny.

The availability of acid is helped by a low conviction rate, which is also not helping control acid attacks. According to news reports, there were 380 cases pending trial in 2016, and have now almost doubled to 754 cases in 2021. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), about 1,686 acid attacks and its attempts were reported between 2016 and 2021; i.e., 14 attacks were reported every month in 2021. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal note the highest number of acid attacks every year. The rate of filing charge sheets was at 83 per cent (2019), 86 per cent (2020), and 89 per cent (2021). While the rate of filing charge sheets has increased, conviction rates have plunged in the last year. The conviction rate stood at 54 per cent (2019), 72 per cent (2020), and 20 per cent (2021).

A few years ago, I was moderating a book launch event where the author had invited some acid attack survivors as guests to participate in the discussion. Bright eyed, young girls who should have had the optimism of their entire life ahead of them, spoke of the gruelling experience of having their bodies corroded; some had lost their eyesight, most almost all of their faces. While they professed their courage and eagerness to take on the world, I couldn't help but fight back tears of anger at a society that had so wronged them. And to think, they were not the last ones.

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal