Acid attacks happen around the world, but they are most prevalent in South Asia. Nearly 80% of victims are women, and most of the assailants are men, often husbands, fathers and rejected suitors. It's a kind of honor crime, most frequently committed against women who have dared to reject sexual advances, turn down a marriage proposal, or seek a divorce. 'She's mine. It's a matter of my dignity,' says one husband accused (and later convicted) of attacking his wife when she sought a divorce.
In Pakistan, at least 100 cases of acid violence are reported each year, but local NGOs estimate the real figure is at least 3 times that. A combination of social stigma and lack of access to the justice system prevent victims from coming forward, so it's hard to know for sure. Indeed, in the rural areas where acid violence is most common, the writ of the state is so weak, and misogyny so entrenched, that women come to believe their suffering is their fault. Among the most heartbreaking stories in Saving Face is that of a woman - Rukhsana - who returns to and reconciles with her assailant because she can see no means of supporting herself or her children otherwise.
It's stories like Rukhsana's that convince filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy that the secret to women's empowerment is women's education. 'Education liberates a woman,' she says, to leave an abusive family situation and make her own way in the world. Moreover, when it's done right, it inculcates values of tolerance and equality, teaching men to treat women better and women to value themselves. Indeed, Chinoy expresses frustration with the nature of education reform in Pakistan, where money is poured into new schoolhouses, but, she says, not enough effort is made to restructure the curriculum in a more progressive and secular way. 'It doesn't matter how many buildings you have, if you're teaching people to hate inside,' she complains. It's so important to her, says Chinoy, that's she's beginning to think of a second career as an educator. 'I don't think I'll be making documentaries my whole life,' she says.
That activist streak runs throughout the Saving Face project. In the film, Junge and Obaid-Chinoy follow the passage of a new Pakistani law criminalizing acid violence and allowing for perpetrators to be sentenced for life, and one of the film's subjects - a woman named Zakia - is able to see her husband convicted under the new legislation. He gets a double life sentence, but the case is now on appeal, and Junge and Obaid-Chinoy are hoping to use the publicity from the film to raise money for Zakia's legal battle.
The reception of the film in Pakistan has been mixed. While proud of the country's first Oscar, critics have accused Obaid-Chinoy of pandering to Western viewers by portraying Pakistan in a negative light. She sees it differently: 'Pakistan destroyed its own reputation. If anything, I have improved Pakistan's image. Saving Face is a story that shows that Pakistan can solve its own problems if it tries.'
Saving Face will air on HBO on Sunday morning (check local listings for times), and on Channel 4 in the U.K. in April. Junge and Chinoy hope to screen the film in Pakistan, but, Junge says, they are waiting to ensure the protection of the women who appear in the film before they do so.
