Women News Network

Women face extreme violence from acid

Correspondent SALLY CHIWAMA – Women News Network – WNN

Artwork by sculptor Theo Junior - 2009

Lusaka, ZAMBIA: “You have to “grow” crocodile skin to clean the wounds of an acid survivor. The worst ordeal was while in the hospital, as the skin kept peeling off.

“I didn’t realize that the tongue skin was also peeling off. The young girl was pushing something in her mouth. I opened her mouth to see and found that almost the whole tongue had come off. I had to pull it out like you do with a cow and only a little red thing (tongue) remained.”

These excruciating words by a girl’s older sister describe the aftermath of the worse physical attack a 13 yr old could ever experience.

What happened to 13 yr old Fridah Mwansa (not her real name) has been happening to women and girls at an ever increasing rate in Africa.  Acid violence in Zambia, also known as “acid attacks,” acts quickly and silently; without the victim knowing at first what is happening. For the first few seconds after acid is thrown or poured, confusion sets in. Then panic, as the skin burst open from the effects of the chemical.
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Acid - A Weapon of Choice

Nitric acid, sulphuric acid and/or hydrochloric acid in the Central Asia and Africa regions are today’s “weapons of choice” for criminals who are bent on punishment or revenge. These acids makes the perfect weapon because they are easily hidden and carried; cheap to buy and easy to use. Hydrochloric, nitric and sulphuric acid literally melts the skin instantly upon contact. In less than a few minutes, the bone under the skin can start to be exposed. If there is enough acid, the bone itself can become a soft mass of non-distinguishable jelly. Internal organs can dissolve. Fingers, noses and ears can melt away like chocolate on a hot day.

Known to chemists as HNO3, nitric acid was originally used in secret rocket fuel formulas by development scientists in Germany and Russia, and later the United States, from 1941 to the late 1950s.

Today it is still one of the ingredients used in jet fuel propellant. Nitric acid is also used primarily in the manufacture of fertilizer, or in gold jewelry manufacturing to separate gold from other metals.

“Red Fuming Nitric Acid,” is a key substance used in the manufacture of Iraqi military Scud, Guidline, Silkworm and Kyle missiles. Controversies with the toxic effects in causalities in the use and deployment of these weapons of war increased during the US Gulf War era. Today these weapons are still in use. The production of acid in chemical manufacturing facilities has also held some of the responsibility for troubles with today’s global acid rain.

Although nitric acid is actively being manufactured worldwide, especially in China and India, it still has an equally strong manufacturing and distribution base inside the US. In 1991, the US manufactured approx 11 million tons of HNO3 in 65 separate US sponsored nitric acid plants.

“World nitric acid production in 2006 was estimated at about 51 million metric tons,” says CHE – the Chemical Economics Handbook Program, one of the world’s leading chemical reporting and marketing agencies.

But how easy is it for anyone to buy? In the US it’s simple. For only $39.95 (USD) a 500ml amber bottle of 69.5% concentration of nitric acid can easily be purchased by anyone online. Globally it’s the same.

“In Dhaka (Bangladesh), sulphuric acid can be readily purchased for just 44 cents a pound (roughly half a litre), with nitric acid slightly higher at 59 cents a pound,” said a Jan 2009 report on Bangladeshi acid attacks by IRIN – Humanitarian News and Analysis.
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Interviewing an Acid Survivor

Interviewing an acid survivor is tricky. The damage to victims is so severe, as a journalist myself, it’s hard not to react personally to the story.

As Fridah’s sister, Annette, narrated her excruciating story to me, her little sister Fridah sat close on my side, as if she needed some kind of protection. She looked scared, vulnerable and alone. I asked her if she wanted to tell me her whole story. Her answer came swiftly as a tear dropped from the one good eye she had left.

“I don’t want to talk about it; I’m really tired of this,” she said flatly.

I wondered; should I press her to tell me exactly what she was tired of?

“It brings back very painful memories,” she declared. “I can see the whole incident all over again, and very clearly, like it happened yesterday”.

I sat patiently. All I could do was listen and watch and take notes. She looked like her pain was excruciating. Half her face was missing.

In 2002, in a small village 80 kilometers from Lusaka, in the village of Mpika boma, 11 yr old Fridah was doing her homework when she suddenly found out from her parents she was now “engaged” to be married to a man many years her senior.

Her parents had already received the “insalamu” (dowry) for their daughter, so the agreement was done. Two years, after Fridah completed her primary education, the child would be handed over in a bridal ceremony to her new husband, Thomas Chileshe.

With Fridah’s difficult news her older sister, Annette, had another idea. She made plans for a rescue. Annette helped Fridah move to the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, where Fridah could complete her education away from an unwanted “fiancé” in relative obscurity and safety.

But Thomas Chileshe had other plans too, even after the news that Fridah’s family wanted to annul all the marriage arrangements, in a series of calculated moves he would do everything he could in an attempt to force Fridah to be his wife.

“Listen Thomas, this relationship was made in the village and not in Lusaka, if you want to see this child, you can see her in the village during the holidays,” Annette said to Chileshe after he showed up on Annette’s doorstep uninvited.

Thomas was hoping to take Fridah back home to live with him right away. “This girl is here for school, so please make this your last visit,” repeated Annette sternly to Chileshe.
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Acid Crime and the Law

The need to pay attention to stories about the brutal forms that acid attacks take is evident. Increasing numbers of humanitarians and global rights activists are now rallying worldwide to bring legislative sanctions to global acid violence perpetrators, underground acid resellers, acid distributors and manufacturers.

The first case of reported acid attack in the world happened in Bangladesh in 1967 when a suitor threw acid on a young girl as his bid for marriage was refused by the girl’s mother. 32 years later, in 2009, acid attacks and VAW – violence against women – has grown exponentially worldwide. Although statistics have shown a slight leveling in acid attacks in Bangladesh over the past few years, other global regions have been showing an increase.

To battle acid crimes, Bangladesh has passed the Nari-O-Shishu Damon Ain Act 2000, along with the Acid Control Act and the Acid Crime Control Act in 2002. These legislative attempts to sanction acid violence have helped but there are still holes in the system. The Acid Crime Control Act Penal Code is so severe it specifically gives the death sentence in certain situations. But on the ground police protection for crime victims is still lacking.

According to the Bangladesh Acid Crime Control Act, if investigators of the crime neglect their duties in properly collecting evidence or making witness reports, the investigators and enforcement officers can also be sanctioned. The Acid Crime Control Tribunal in Bangladesh is now working on connecting the dots with legal recourse for victims.

Zambia has yet to create a legal framework for the clear prosecution of acid criminals. Zambian women are the majority of targets. Detailed legislation is desperately needed.

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Deception – Lies and Intimidation

“He told me his mother was very ill and had traveled to Lusaka to seek medical attention and had asked to see me,” said Fridah in a description of the events that led up to her trauma.

“I asked him why his mother wanted to see me and he said because she wanted to hear from me in person; to know whether it was actually true that I wanted to discontinue the engagement,” added Fridah. “He assured me that visiting her would only be for a short while. He would make sure I got home safe and in good time.”

But lies come easy.

When Fridah arrived at the place where Thomas was staying he invited the young girl quickly inside. As soon as she sat down, Chileshe locked all the doors as he wrestled Fridah’s mobile phone from her hand. In her youthful naïveté Fridah asked to see Thomas’ mother, but Chileshe told her that she wasn’t in the house, that she was far away and nowhere near them. She was back home in the village.

Fridah Mwansa before and after acid attack. Image: Sally Chiwama

By that time, “my sister was (frantically) calling me to try to find out my whereabouts,” said Fridah describing the incident. “Thomas had gone outside with my phone locking me up inside,” Fridah continued. “He dialed Annette, telling my sister that she would never see me again because I was now his wife.”

At that point there was no going back.

In a chilling move, Thomas began using Fridah’s mobile phone, in a form of texting crime, calling her bank of relatives; her bothers, her sisters, her “Aunties;” telling them all they would never see Fridah again; and that they shouldn’t bother looking for her because he had married her.

Back at Annette’s home, Fridah’s sister was in a panic as she called the Lusaka Police Service to report Fridah’s abduction to the Victim Support Unit (VSU). “No, she didn’t know Chleshe’s location.”

The police thanked Annette for the notification. The night was long and full of tears.

Next day, Thomas Chileshe’s sister-in-law went to the house where Fridah lay captive. She tried to reason with her brother-in-law through a window in the house asking him, why was he keeping this child trapped without the consent of her guardians? She pleaded with him to let the young girl go.

It worked. Thomas opened the door freeing Fridah to walk home from her ordeal.

But Thomas never did let go.

“I went home alone and reported the entire incident to the VSU,” said Fredah. “My family tried to find out if Thomas had raped me. I told them the truth; that he never slept in the house while I was there, but they wouldn’t believe me. In fact, I am still a virgin,” said Fridah tearing.

It was after this that the text messages began.

“Nag banana Chachiine nkakwipaya,” was the first message that suddenly appeared one afternoon on Fridah’s phone. It translates a chilling message, “If it is true that you have denied me, I will kill you.”

This message and the ones that followed were reported one by one to Lusaka’s VSU – Victim Support Unit. But they couldn’t promise any clear protection for Fridah.

At first Fridah and her sister didn’t take the messages seriously. They even laughed about many of the threats. But the messages didn’t stop. They came more and more frequently as the ongoing tone of violence from Thomas became more and more urgent.

Fridah tried to ignore the urgency in the words. With each text message she tried to decide if she should save it and show it to the VSU. She wished the whole thing would just wear off and go away. What else could she do? The police could make no promises.
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Acid Violence – Domestic Violence

The overwhelming majority of acid victims are women, many below the age of 18. In recent years, there have also been global attacks on very young children, older women and men. Attacks are often the result of family and land disputes, dowry demands or a desire for revenge.

Far away in the US, stories of acid crime are now filtering through the news media. “I view these issues (acid violence and all global violence against women) as central to our foreign policy, not as adjunct or auxiliary, or in any way lesser than all of the other issues we have to confront,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to US Senator Barbara Boxer on Boxer’s mention of the global rise in acid violence during Clinton’s Jan 2009 confirmation.

A 1998 study by WHO – World Health Organization reveals shocking statistics. 40% of all women in Zambia experienced some form of domestic violence the year before. In only one year violence against women had increased 243% as cases of beating, burning, rape, murder and threats of murder were reported. Unreported and/or under-reported cases were not included in the study.

“Of all the gender-based violence directed towards women, the most horrific violence is that of acid attack…” said a 2007 report from the NCW – The National Commission for Women, New Delhi.

“The most common substances used in acid attack are hydrochloric acid (widely available in many countries as toilet cleaner) or sulphuric acid from batteries. The attack disfigures the victims for life and traumatizes them from excruciating pain and unbearable shock compounded by social rejection,” continued the NCW report.

“The attack is an easy means of retaliation to totally break the spirit and her honour, her trust in others and completely damages her self-esteem. Even if the physical wounds are treated, the emotional scar, which the victim has experienced from the horrific incident, remains throughout her life and that again has a huge implication on her future as a woman.”
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“What is This You’ve Thrown at Me?”

Toward the end of March in Lusaka, students have final exams. Around 10am in the morning Fridah had finished her tests and headed home. On the way, she took the bus, getting off at a stop to walk the rest of the way. It was then she heard a voice from behind her calling out, “Fridah!” She turned to look. It was Thomas Chileshe coming toward her on a bicycle.

“I was shocked and scared when I saw it was Thomas,” Fridah admitted. “When he came up to me I asked him what he was looking for in and what he wanted in my neighborhood. I noticed that he had a black plastic bag on the carrier of his bicycle, but didn’t bother much about it,” continued Fridah.

“Then, I saw my neighbor, Mr. Zimba, who asked me why I was not in school. I explained to him that I was finished for the day. When I began to talk to Mr. Zimba, Thomas stayed back at a distance.”

When Fridah finished talking to her neighbor, she looked behind and noticed Thomas had disappeared. She said a little prayer to herself, “Thank God he’s gone,” and began walking.

But Thomas suddenly appeared again.

Fridah continued her story, “This time I gathered some courage and asked him what he wanted from me. I asked him to leave me alone. I also asked why he had not left, but he did not respond, instead he took that bottle wrapped in a black plastic bag and put it to high to his mouth, pretending to drink the stuff.”

At this point in the interview Fridah went silent. It was a long pin-drop silence as tears begin to flow from the only eye she had left.

“Suddenly, I felt a cold chill around my right ear down to my shoulder. This is before I realized what it was,” she said holding the tears back. “I thought it was cold water. I even asked him (Thomas), “Imwe finshi mwanjitila efi?” (What is this you’ve thrown at me?).

“Before I knew it he splashed the rest of the contents on my left side and some of it went into my mouth,” Fridah continued methodically.

“As you can see, I’ve lost one eye. I have no ear and part of my head will never grow hair. My neck and shoulder is also still being eaten by the acid. All the while Thomas was just looking and smiling at me. He bolted only when I started to scream.”
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Chemical Effects of Acid on the Skin

“Contact with nitric acid or inhalation of nitric gases will result in severe cauterization of skin, mucous membranes, the respiratory system (pulmonary oedema) and eyes,” said a Jan 2009, OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe report.

Of all the gender-based violence directed towards African women, the most horrific and lasting violence is acid attack. “The attack disfigures the victims for life,” said the National Commission for Women, India 2007.

As she screamed “Am burning, am burning help me!” Fridah could see bubbles forming on her skin. She explained to me the way we see milk boil is exactly what she saw happening to her skin.

“I saw my skin melting. My school uniform and bag were also melting,” she said looking away from me.

By the time Fridah knew what was happening, she had fallen into a drainage ditch on the side of the road writhing in pain. She was picked up by a group of neighbors who heard her screams and taken home.

No one knew yet it was acid on Fridah’s skin. She was foaming at the mouth; disoriented; unable to stand. Her rescuers tried to give her milk to neutralize her mouth. Later they took her into the bathroom to try to wash off whatever was thrown on her, but the wounds were spreading. Her skin kept peeling off in layers.

At the hospital the first week for Fridah was racked with pain. No medication helped. Fridah’s skin continued to fall off. The effects of the acid did not stop. Even once the acid was treated by hospital staff her tissues and cells suffered from continued damage. At one point, Fridah took a turn for the worse. Her skin turned black.

“We were all shocked,” said her sister. “It (Fridah’s skin) was so hard that if you sort of knocked on it, you would hear a sound… They had to pull it (skin) off every day.”

The doctors at Zambia’s University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, ended up having to remove her eye. Luckily Fridah’s internal organs were not affected by the acid. Skin grafts and numerous operations followed as doctors tried to recreate Fridah’s top and bottom eyelids, a delicate and specialized operation that may or may not work.

“What I miss most is going to school,” said Fridah. With numerous operations over many months “I have been unable to attend classes,” she continued.

“I could have been finishing my last grade by now and looking forward to college. I miss learning. I miss my friends.”
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Acid Justice Zambia?

So, what happened to Fridah’s attacker? Thomas Chileshe is still on the run.

“The man who poured acid on that girl should be punished for what he did,” said Zambian humanitarian journalist, Brenda Zulu. “Because he is on the run, Chinleshe should be publicly portrayed in newspapers so the whole world can know what he has done to this young girl.”

“The culprit must be brought to book… The police must act fast,” said Zambian human rights and child rights activist, Sara Longwe. “Zambian society condones the treatment of women and girls as second class citizens as our society follows the ‘African’ directive,” Longwe continued. “If a man had been attacked this way the assailant would have been arrested by now, especially since the incident took place not far from the (Chelston) Police Station.”

Sara Longwe, along with other human rights activists, blames the Zambian government for no action. In 2006, legislation that would directly help victims of acid violence was proposed to the Minister of Justice by WILDAF – Women in Law and Development in Africa, Zambia. Recently, two other separate legislative bills in the Zambian Parliament have also been proposed, but they haven’t gathered enough support.

The scars left by acid are not just skin deep. There is an old adage that goes, “You can run but you cannot hide.” Fridah’s lost face, hair, ear and eye is a never fading banner that reminds us just how much the effect of acid violence never really fades.
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Like Zambia, acid crime in neigboring Uganda is used as a weapon for personal revenge. This revenge is now being used on women, men and children in all regions of Africa and comes at an incredible cost. This video is a July 2008 France24 news production with G. Kahn, J. Grange and G. Ozan.
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For more information on this topic:

• OMCT – World Organisation Against Torture – “Ending Impunity to Acid Violence and Rape,” 2008
• OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – “Liquid Rocket Fuel in the OSCE Area: Overview of Disposal Aspects”<br>
• NCW – National Commission for Women, India – “Paper on Acid Attacks”
• OMCT – World Organisation Against Torture – “ZAMBIA: Contribution from the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Process,” 2008
• US EPA – Environmental Protection Agency – “U.S. Adipic Acid and Nitric Acid N2O Emissions 1990-2020: Inventories, Projections and Opportunities for Reductions”

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Sources for this article include the US EPA – Environmental Protection Agency, OMCT – World Organisation Against Torture, the Acid Survivors Foundation, US Dept of Defense, OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, IRIN – Humanitarian News and Analysis, ActionAid – Bangladesh, UNDAW – United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, National Commission for Women – India and Alliance Internationale Des Femmes.

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WNN Zambia Correspondent, Sally Chiwama, is a humanitarian journalist. In Dec 2008, she was recipient of the “Every Human Has Rights Media Awards,” organized by The Elders, ALTERNET, Amnesty International and The Global Forum for Media Development. Sally received her award for WNN article, “When a Girl Student Stands Up and Wins,” about a young girl student who faced her teacher in a ground breaking Zambian sex-assault case.

2007 Pushcart Prize nominee, journalist and founder of Women News Network – WNN, Lys Anzia, has contributed additional material for this report. As a human-rights journalist and women’s advocate, Lys is dedicated to producing “in-depth” news that exposes ongoing struggles for global women.

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©2009 Women News Network – WNN