Nafisa: He threw acid at me and I want to know why?

KABUL (SW): Nafisa was on her way home with her husband and two children around 11 pm on the second day of Eid when a man threw acid at her face.

The incident took place in Shahrak Aria in the capital Kabul. Nafisa; whose face has been badly disfigured, has said that the biggest question that would haunt her for her entire life is why someone has done this to her? “I have no animosity against anyone and I am not suspicious of anyone”, she said.

She described her attacker as a tall and thin man. She said that policemen were standing approximately a few meters away from her when she was attacked with fuming acid but did not bother themselves to come to her rescue.

Abdul Latif, her husband, has said in this regard that they no longer feel safe in Afghanistan. Our mothers and sisters have no security, they are burned, killed and their lives have no value it seems”, he lamented while describing the state of insecurity for women in Afghanistan. Echoing his wife’s concerns, he said that they have never had any personal animosity against anyone, and is desperate to know why such thing has happened to his wife.

Samira, Nafisa’s niece, who was with her when the incident occurred, described the attacker as tall and masked man. She said that that the attacker threw acid at her aunt’s face from a dark corner of the street.

Mohammad Sharif Yousufi, a doctor at the Isteqlal Hospital in Kabul, said that due to the attack, 20 percent of Nafisa’s face has been burned.

Feraidun Obaidi, the Head of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said that their investigation is underway.

He said that the incident has not been an organized one and it seems more of a personal feud. He added that a number of suspects have been identified in regard to this incident but they would arrest them as soon as the investigation is completed.

Nafisa herself is a doctor who does not practice her profession as she has opted for taking care of her children.

Asked if she urges the security forces to arrest and punish the perpetrators, she responded: “It is too late now. I have lost my face. I just want to be at peace.”

ENDS