© The Associated Press/Fakhra Younus FamilyThis combination of two undated photos provide by the family shows on the left, Fakhra Younus, some time after an acid attack twelve years ago, allegedly carried out by her then-husband, an ex-lawmaker and son of a political powerhouse; and on the right, Younus sometime before the attack. Younus, who had endured more than three dozen surgeries over more than a decade to repair her severely damaged face and body, finally decided life was no longer worth living. The 33-year-old former dancing girl jumped from the sixth floor of a building in Rome March 17, 2012, where she had been living and receiving treatment.
Islamabad - Pakistani acid attack victim Fakhra Younus had endured more than three dozen surgeries over more than a decade to repair her severely damaged face and body when she finally decided life was no longer worth living.
The 33-year-old former dancing girl - who was allegedly attacked by her then-husband, an ex-lawmaker and son of a political powerhouse - jumped from the sixth floor of a building in Rome, where she had been living and receiving treatment.
Her March 17 suicide and the return of her body to Pakistan on Sunday reignited furor over the case, which received significant international attention at the time of the attack. Her death came less than a month after a Pakistani filmmaker won the country's first Oscar for a documentary about acid attack victims.
Younus' story highlights the horrible mistreatment many women face in Pakistan's conservative, male-dominated culture and is a reminder that the country's rich and powerful often appear to operate with impunity. Younus' ex-husband, Bilal Khar, was eventually acquitted, but many believe he used his connections to escape the law's grip - a common occurrence in Pakistan.
More than 8,500 acid attacks, forced marriages and other forms of violence against women were reported in Pakistan in 2011, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women's rights organization. Because the group relied mostly on media reports, the figure is likely an undercount.
"The saddest part is that she realized that the system in Pakistan was never going to provide her with relief or remedy," Nayyar Shabana Kiyani, an activist at The Aurat Foundation, said of Younus. "She was totally disappointed that there was no justice available to her."
Comment: How does a child 'refuse' to be seated? Parenting is not a Democracy!