Eye-for-eye justice in Iran

In 2004 Ameneh Bahrami turned down a marriage proposal. Her would-be suitor responded by throwing acid in her face, blinding and disfiguring her. Now an Iranian court ruled that her attacker, himself will be blinded by acid in response under a principle in Islamic law known as ‘qisas’, literally, especially in this case, an eye-for-an-eye justice.

These sorts of attacks are not unknown in Iran and other places in the Islamic world. If acid attacks are even prosecuted, the attacker usually is only required to pay a fine to the victim. Bahrami, who now lives in exile in Spain, surviving only on a small monthly stipend provided by the Spanish government, said that she pursued the judgment under qisas not out of a sense of revenge, but rather to send a signal to other would-be attackers that they cannot get away with disfiguring women they feel ‘shamed’ them merely by paying a fine.

The court in Iran ruled in her favor a few months ago, but recently amended their judgment ruling that her attacker, identified by the court only as ‘Majid’, would be blinded in only one eye since, under Iranian law the genders are unequal with men being worth two women (thus blinding Majid in one eye while Bahrami was blinded in both). They would blind Majid in both eyes if Bahrami paid a sum of 20,000 Euros apparently to make up for her being a woman and thus less in value.

The sentence will be carried out by a medical technician who will put several drops of acid put into one of Majid’s eyes, while he is under sedation – an option Ameneh Bahrami didn’t have.