Fakhra Yunus from Pakistan, one of the most famous cases of acid attack, ended her 13-year ordeal by jumping out of her sixth-floor apartment in Italy.
Fakhra Yunus was 22 when her husband Bilal Khar, a member of the politically strong Khar family of Punjab, marred her life by allegedly throwing acid on her face just three years after their marriage.
On March 17, she leapt off from the sixth floor of a building. Her body was expected to arrive in Karachi via air on March 25.
Following the intervention of Pakistani writer and activist Tehmina Durrani of «My Feudal Lord» fame, Yunus was shifted to Italy where she underwent over 36 plastic surgeries and intensive counselling. Ironically, Durrani is also the ex-stepmother of Bilal Khar as she was once married to his father Ghulam Mustafa Khar.
In a touching piece following Yunus’ death, Durrani wrote: «I have met many acid victims. Never have I seen one as completely disfigured as Fakhra. She had not just become faceless; her body had also melted to the bone. Despite her stark and hopeless condition, the government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was not in the least God-fearing. She was provided nothing…but disdain…and trashed.»
Fakhra Yunus, Before and After the Acid Attack
I can not understand how people can be so cruel and probably satisfied by seeing others’ misfortune and suffering. I also wonder if Bilal Khar will be brought to justice. We have to share the story , speak out and take action to stop the violence against women before we lose our humanity. I know it’s too difficult to enter anyone’s country but in cases like this, all countries should speak out against this horror to women. It’s time for all women to be treated as equal and not as second class citizens. I wish that day would arrive soon.
RIP Fakhra
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