By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

LUCKNOW, India – Four sisters in India suffered varying degrees of burn injuries after being brutally attacked with acid by two unidentified men on a motorbike.

The four sisters are all teachers at a local government school in the town of Kandhla in Shamli district which is located in the western Uttar Pradesh state.  Their ages range from nineteen to twenty four.  The attack occurred when the four were on their way home after work.

Abdul Hameed, the senior police officer in charge of investigating the case, released a public statement saying that the youngest of the sisters, 19, suffered the severest of burns and was rushed to a hospital in Delhi for treatment.  Hameed also told the public that the motive behind the attacks is still unclear.

Proponents for greater protection of Indian women against violent abuse said that women who deny the orders or advances of lovers, husbands or even employers are often brutally attacked like the four sisters in the current case.

The cheap chemicals and acids used in these types of attacks are readily available in commercial markets in India.  “Tezaab,” a household cleaning agent designed to clean rust off tools is the weapon of choice in these attacks.  Human rights activists have clamored for greater restrictions on the sale of chemicals and acids that are generally used in the attacks.

President Pranab Mukherjee recently passed legislation that imposes harsher punishments on those who commit certain acts of violence against women.  The newly signed laws contain greater penalties for the crime of rape.  Rapists can now face the death penalty.

The punishments for attacking women with acid, however, have remained unchanged.  Perpetrators can face up to 12 years in prison depending on the amount of damage they inflict with their attack; however the offenders can be bailed out.

Reports by the London-based Acid Survivors Trust International estimate that about 1,500 acid attacks are carried out and recorded internationally per year.  However, this figure may be inaccurate because many of the victims of acid attacks do not officially report their injuries to the proper authorities and suffer in silence.

The majority of the acid attacks that occur throughout the world are carried out in South Asia in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan Afghanistan as well as India.  Pakistan, India’s neighbor, recently passed legislation in 2011 that increased the punishment of acid attacks.  Prison sentences range from 14 years to life and a minimum fine of one million Pakistani rupees is imposed.

For further information, please see:

Mmegi Online – Four sisters in India injured in acid attack – 4 April 2013

The Nation – 4 Indian sisters hurt in acid attack – 4 April 2013

BBC – India acid: Four sisters injured in Uttar Pradesh attack – 3 April 2013

Global Post – Acid attack on four Indian sisters – 3 April 2013