Most of those affected by acid and petrol violence are girls, but women, boys and men are also attacked. The motive behind attacks on girls is often jealousy, and attacks on men often arise out of disputes over land. 
Acid attacks have been common for some time, but previously the public didn’t know about it, and the media didn’t report it.

“Acid is used as a weapon in other countries,” says Monira. “In Pakistan, Uganda, India, Cambodia... but ASF now has sister organisations in other countries too. My dream is to build a large, modern hospital in Bangladesh. We could take survivors from other countries too, and hold all sorts of training courses. We have so much to learn from each other. And we all have the same goal - to put a stop to the use of acid and petrol as weapons.”

Text: Monica Zak
Photos: Kim Naylor