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Masoumeh
BLIND LOVE
The story of Masoumeh
Masoumeh is an Iranian woman from Ishafan who was burned with acid when she was 36 years old from her father's husband after their separation due to years of violence. In Iran women who suffer gender violence struggle against the current law that discriminate women respect men. A woman, according to law, is half price of a man so, this means that a woman could obtain half justice of a man, half salary etc. After years of battles, 37 operations and trial, she obtained her child custody bartering it for the reduction of the penalty of the father-in-law. So He was sentenced to only 5 years in prison (reduced to 1.5 years for good conduct).
After after all she had suffered to get a divorce, for the second time, Masoumeh has renounced her rights. She did it to be free. She's now leaving with her son, teaching since 3 years arts, ceramic, cell phone for blind people in a charity private association that helps blind person in Teheran called "White Stick". This give her peace, the feeling of building something is a pleasure for her. She comes from a traditional family of Ishafan, her father didn’t allow to send her at university so she thought so she thought that her problems ended with marriage accepting the first proposal her family received. She got a traditional marriage talking just 2 hours before the weddings with the man families have chosen for her. He was a military.
A month after the wedding the problems started, they always quarreled. He hit her the first time because she found out that he had never gone to college all that time. The first year she tries to report him by showing her scars. It was enough for him to sign declarations in which he undertook not to do it again. But it was not so. He continued to beat her. He would disappear for days without saying where he was going. Masoumeh got pregnant unwittingly at 23. He hoped that, thanks to the pregnancy, things would change, instead when the son was 1 year old he had to run away from home. It took 2 years to get a divorce. The judge did not accept his proposal because a woman cannot decide on a divorce, men must grant it. The judge told her that if her husband beat her, it was for her sake and He was his master because he had paid her (putting the dowry that in theory woman could use for a divorce).
After 2 years they finally grant her a divorce and Masoumeh asks her husband for support, he doesn't pay and for this he goes to prison. His father begins to put psychological pressure on her by telling her that if he gave up the money, he would pay her instead of his son. She agrees to be free but the court denies her custody of her son by granting her, up to the age of 8, as per law. Masoumeh starts working and being independent. Become a hairdresser and open a business. The only connection that remains with her husband is the son she visited every 2 weeks for 2 hours. The father-in-law saw how much better he was and that he had even bought a new car. After the divorce, the ex-husband started taking drugs and became aggressive. He was a victim to everyone by saying he was sick of losing her.
A year and a half after the divorce, the grandfather with the excuse of wanting to give a surprise gift to his grandson, on returning home from the park, shows her the gift, but he slept, telling her to close her eyes:
“I felt my face getting hot, I could smell the sour of the acid. My eyes were sticking together, the clothes to my skin. I start to scream. The only thing I heard was the car running away. My parents arrived and saw my face burn. I still cannot find any reason to understand why I did it this to me. Some neighbors saw everything. But they were afraid and came to testify before the court”. He justified himself by saying he had done it because she had dared to divorce her son.
“I lived my life I don't care what it's going to happen to me”. He said in front of the court". He was an important guy. His sentence was to pay 15 000.000 to be free (usually is 4 more the amount).
“Everytime I did a surgery i had to go to the court to show how they worked on me. It took many years. I stop to make surgeries cause I wanted to finish the trial. I was so tired. 9 years of surgeries”. During these 9 years she requested to blind him (the penalty that would be due to him by law). For a law 2 eyes of a woman is an eye of a man. To do more than 1 she has to pay the amount of an eye. So she had to pay 45,000.000 to the guy to blind him. The son is now 13 years old when he was 3 and a half years old. When it happened he was sleeping and he was so small. He wanted to come to the yard but the sister of Masoumeh stopped him. When she came back home from the hospital she was completely black and she wore a mask. He was continually asking her why she didn't take off that mask.
“This was more difficult than when I was burned. For many months I couldn't even hug him or speak because I was infected. He slept on the floor next to my bed. He couldn't do it with me because of the infections. He knew everything from the conversations of some friends. He didn't want to leave the house for a long time cause he was scared someone come. For a period he cannot paint my face but only doing doodles. Now He does. He was frightened because he thought he was taken by his father when he was 8 years old because he called me from prison telling me that if I had blinded his father, he would have blinded our son. So we made a deal: The child for the freedom of her father in law”.
In Iran many women do not know their rights. Masoumeh has taken care of his son all these years, the court wanted to give her 15 years for "kidnapping" his son while his father-in-law was sentenced to only 5 years in prison (reduced to 1.5 years for good conduct). For the second time Masoumeh has renounced her rights. She did it to be free.
The story of Masoumeh
Masoumeh is an Iranian woman from Ishafan who was burned with acid when she was 36 years old from her father's husband after their separation due to years of violence. In Iran women who suffer gender violence struggle against the current law that discriminate women respect men. A woman, according to law, is half price of a man so, this means that a woman could obtain half justice of a man, half salary etc. After years of battles, 37 operations and trial, she obtained her child custody bartering it for the reduction of the penalty of the father-in-law. So He was sentenced to only 5 years in prison (reduced to 1.5 years for good conduct).
After after all she had suffered to get a divorce, for the second time, Masoumeh has renounced her rights. She did it to be free. She's now leaving with her son, teaching since 3 years arts, ceramic, cell phone for blind people in a charity private association that helps blind person in Teheran called "White Stick". This give her peace, the feeling of building something is a pleasure for her. She comes from a traditional family of Ishafan, her father didn’t allow to send her at university so she thought so she thought that her problems ended with marriage accepting the first proposal her family received. She got a traditional marriage talking just 2 hours before the weddings with the man families have chosen for her. He was a military.
A month after the wedding the problems started, they always quarreled. He hit her the first time because she found out that he had never gone to college all that time. The first year she tries to report him by showing her scars. It was enough for him to sign declarations in which he undertook not to do it again. But it was not so. He continued to beat her. He would disappear for days without saying where he was going. Masoumeh got pregnant unwittingly at 23. He hoped that, thanks to the pregnancy, things would change, instead when the son was 1 year old he had to run away from home. It took 2 years to get a divorce. The judge did not accept his proposal because a woman cannot decide on a divorce, men must grant it. The judge told her that if her husband beat her, it was for her sake and He was his master because he had paid her (putting the dowry that in theory woman could use for a divorce).
After 2 years they finally grant her a divorce and Masoumeh asks her husband for support, he doesn't pay and for this he goes to prison. His father begins to put psychological pressure on her by telling her that if he gave up the money, he would pay her instead of his son. She agrees to be free but the court denies her custody of her son by granting her, up to the age of 8, as per law. Masoumeh starts working and being independent. Become a hairdresser and open a business. The only connection that remains with her husband is the son she visited every 2 weeks for 2 hours. The father-in-law saw how much better he was and that he had even bought a new car. After the divorce, the ex-husband started taking drugs and became aggressive. He was a victim to everyone by saying he was sick of losing her.
A year and a half after the divorce, the grandfather with the excuse of wanting to give a surprise gift to his grandson, on returning home from the park, shows her the gift, but he slept, telling her to close her eyes:
“I felt my face getting hot, I could smell the sour of the acid. My eyes were sticking together, the clothes to my skin. I start to scream. The only thing I heard was the car running away. My parents arrived and saw my face burn. I still cannot find any reason to understand why I did it this to me. Some neighbors saw everything. But they were afraid and came to testify before the court”. He justified himself by saying he had done it because she had dared to divorce her son.
“I lived my life I don't care what it's going to happen to me”. He said in front of the court". He was an important guy. His sentence was to pay 15 000.000 to be free (usually is 4 more the amount).
“Everytime I did a surgery i had to go to the court to show how they worked on me. It took many years. I stop to make surgeries cause I wanted to finish the trial. I was so tired. 9 years of surgeries”. During these 9 years she requested to blind him (the penalty that would be due to him by law). For a law 2 eyes of a woman is an eye of a man. To do more than 1 she has to pay the amount of an eye. So she had to pay 45,000.000 to the guy to blind him. The son is now 13 years old when he was 3 and a half years old. When it happened he was sleeping and he was so small. He wanted to come to the yard but the sister of Masoumeh stopped him. When she came back home from the hospital she was completely black and she wore a mask. He was continually asking her why she didn't take off that mask.
“This was more difficult than when I was burned. For many months I couldn't even hug him or speak because I was infected. He slept on the floor next to my bed. He couldn't do it with me because of the infections. He knew everything from the conversations of some friends. He didn't want to leave the house for a long time cause he was scared someone come. For a period he cannot paint my face but only doing doodles. Now He does. He was frightened because he thought he was taken by his father when he was 8 years old because he called me from prison telling me that if I had blinded his father, he would have blinded our son. So we made a deal: The child for the freedom of her father in law”.
In Iran many women do not know their rights. Masoumeh has taken care of his son all these years, the court wanted to give her 15 years for "kidnapping" his son while his father-in-law was sentenced to only 5 years in prison (reduced to 1.5 years for good conduct). For the second time Masoumeh has renounced her rights. She did it to be free.
