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Iran acid attack victims find new identity in art
TEHRAN, March 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Massoumeh Attaie does not want to be
defined only by the evil that drove her father-in-law to blind her with acid
in her face. She wants to be known as an artist.
The 35-year-old Iranian never got justice for the brutal attack eight
years ago that left her permanently disfigured.
Her father-in-law threw acid in her face because she had sought a divorce,
but under Iran’s Islamic law, her two eyes were worth only one of his.
And in the end, the family threatened that the same punishment would
befall her son if she pressed charges.
“I chose my son over justice,” she said — a terrible choice she says she
has put behind her and refuses to let crush her spirit.
This week she joined a group of other victims of acid attacks presenting
their work at the Ashianeh gallery in Tehran to raise awareness and money.
“I don’t want to be known as a victim, I want to be known as an artist,”
she said.
Attaie makes pottery, sculpted bowls and statuettes.
She now lives in Tehran with her 12-year-old son, having fled her family
in Iran’s third city of Isfahan, gives art classes to other blind people and
proudly says she is “totally independent”.
“I hope this exhibition is encouraging for others like us to give them a
bit of morale to come out from hiding away in their house and come back to
society,” she said.
There have been repeated outbreaks of acid attacks in Iran.
A spate of attacks in 2014 triggered protests and claims the culprits were
targeting women wearing “immodest” clothing.
The most infamous case came in 2011 when a young woman, Ameneh Bahrami,
was blinded by a man after rejecting his offer of marriage.
Public pressure meant the courts granted her full retribution, ordering
him to be blinded in both eyes, though she spared him at the last moment.
– ‘Hear our cry’ –
Not all of the attacks have targeted women.
Also presenting his work at the Tehran gallery was Mohsen Mortazavi, who
was disfigured by a jealous colleague.
His artwork is a highly intricate type of portrait known as moaragh, made
from wood offcuts.
Half of his self-portrait is how he once looked, the other half is
obliterated by a dark blotch.
“I wanted to show the moment it happened,” he said.
“We wanted the public to hear our voice, our cry, the cry of those who
have been burned like us. The best way we could find was with art,” he said.
“It’s great to see how this show has brought people back to the world,”
said Zahra Safari, a visitor at the exhibition this week.
“The fact that they can use their hands to express their feelings and the
fact they express their interior strength and that their face becomes less
significant – that they are enjoying themselves.”
Money raised by the show went to Iran’s Association of Support of Acid
Attack Victims.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0950 hrs