Masume Attaie, 39, has begun a new life as a model in order to showcase her beauty after her father-in-law blinded her by sprinkling acid on her face.
She does not like to be reduced to only being a victim of wicked deeds who is blind. She aspires to fame as a model and artist.
The vicious assault that left her severely disfigured 12 years ago never received justice. Because she had requested a divorce from her husband, her father-in-law splashed acid in her face, but according to Iranian Islamic law, her two eyes were only worth one of his.
In the end, the family threatened that if she reported her son, he would receive the same penalty. She confessed, “I chose my son over justice.”
Ataei said in an interview: ‘Perhaps facial beauty of a woman is all she has got. When that is destroyed, it is very difficult for a person to come to terms with it and return to the society once again.’
2014 saw a wave of attacks that sparked protests and allegations that the victims were women wearing “immodest” apparel.
The most notorious incident occurred in 2011, when Ameneh Bahrami, a young woman, was blinded by a guy after declining his proposal of marriage.
Despite her decision to spare him at the last minute, public outcry forced the courts to award her complete punishment and rule that he be rendered blind in both eyes.
The same story was the basis for a movie made by an Iranian director. The movie’s name is “Lantory.”
Acid attacks are agonising assaults that are frequently used to strip women of their beauty. Local media said that there may have been twice as many attacks as were officially reported in Iran, where volunteer militia serve as the self-appointed policemen of Islamic law.
In recent years, dozens of Iranian women have suffered acid attacks from family members or, most likely, extreme supporters of the Islamic Republic and the hijab requirement. According to figures from the Iranian Ministry of Health, there are 60 to 70 incidents of acid assaults annually.
The Iranian Parliament approved a law in 2019 that mandated the execution of those responsible for “acid assaults intended to bring about terror and instability in the population.”
The measure was hailed as a triumph for the cause of acid attack victims.
In order to enforce the hijab, special police units are frequently stationed in Iranian cities, removing women who they perceive to be wearing excessive makeup or letting their hair fall out from under the required headscarf.
This conduct occasionally prompts certain radical teenagers, primarily Basij members, to “act at will” and hurl acid on the faces of those ladies they perceive to be wearing non-Islamic or western clothing.
Large paramilitary group known as the Basij, meaning mobilisation in Persian, serves as the Islamic regime’s “eyes and ears” and has a variety of functions. They are present in southern Iranian tribal communities as well as at schools, universities, public and commercial institutions, and factories.
