Technology and Aesthetics: The Future for the Victims of Acid Attacks in Pakistan

Written by Maxine Cowlan, Olivene Villapando, Carlee Knight, Fadumo Faarah and Hermon Gebremichael

Pakistan. A world away. A world that most of us could never imagine. Where hundreds of women have been victims of acid attacks, losing their confidence and families. An acid attack is one in which acid is thrown at a victim (usually focusing on the face) and the cause is reported as often being due to a woman dishonouring her husband, rejecting a marriage claim or sexual advancement[i]. Masarrat Misbah is a beautician turned philanthropist who caters to women who are victims of acid attack violence. She is working to restore their confidence, and turn these girls’ lives around. Masarrat Misbah started her work years ago to become a beautician and she has 35 salons all over Pakistan. In 2005, a young girl, who had been the victim of an acid attack, approached Masarrat. This was when she began her charity Depilex Smileagain Foundation. They provide medical care; psychosocial support skill training and education, which restores confidence and can, turn a woman’s life around. Each salon has the ability to employ 35-40 women who have been victims of acid attacks. The reason for her success is because she was determined and wanted to be successful and take care of her family.

By creating this renowned foundation, Misbah is able to help many women from around the country. Her foundation is able to allow numerous amounts of women to feel empowered and confident with themselves. Being a businesswoman, Misbah, is able to open many salons in different areas within Pakistan. Not only does this create and provide various job opportunities, but it also creates a safehaven for these female acid victims. In addition to helping these women feel beautiful again, Depilex Smileagain Foundation also applies pressure to the government to implement changes within the Pakistani community and provides legal representation for victims  to pursue justice.

While there still remains great injustice and inequality amongst men and women in Pakistan, Misbah believes that with the help of technology and social media, victims of these attacks can reach out and connect with others in similar situations internationally. By giving the women employed in her salons computers, she’s helping them connect with the rest of the world. Which enables them to help those outside of their community to understand and become aware of the oppression many women are going through in Pakistan. Not only is the technology of these computers helping them cope with their situation; it is helping these women learn new skills, and earn money by allowing their clienteles to use their computers for a fixed price.

More and more women that are disfigured are joining this organization and getting help and support  Even though this is still challenging, these women have been given the confidence to move forward. Through social media and broadcasts, awareness is spread to help share the stories and get support from government. Moreover, Misbah shared these women’s personal stories and spoke about many men in Pakistan that do not accept that women are being empowered and thus, try to make their lives even more difficult. They do this by refusing to let these women become independent and by not allowing them to have the courage to stand up for themselves. Furthermore, to increase awareness, NGO’s and communities are becoming more informed about women’s rights.Development is a process and education is a change of the mindset/attitude. Misbah stated that education for men is equally important as it is for women and they should continue to educate each other in their own communities and villages. Men are rarely prosecuted for the crime of domestic violence as only a few men have been put in jail for a short period of time.

The 667 women currently registered with Depilex Smileagain Foundation are breaking down the stigma behind acid attacks by letting their society, women in particular, know that these attacks were not the women’s own doing. They’re giving women a voice and showing that there is no need to be ashamed of their disfigurement. The Depilex Smileagain Foundation is showing that all it takes is one person to start something, according to Misbah, four men are paying for their crimes against women, making the optimism grow that change is coming. Depilex is continuing to spread knowledge of victims of acid attacks, knowledge that is going to empower women everywhere. In the words of Depilex Smileagain Foundation’s founder Masarrat Misbah, “Heed the call of life, so that we can all bring back lost smiles again…and again!”