The Women and Social Committee of the parliament has instructed the government to regulate sale and distribution of acid.
The committee after holding discussion with officials of the National Women's Commission, Home Ministry, Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, and victims of acid attacks on Monday has instructed the Home Ministry to make arrangements for keeping record of those buying acid.
The committee has concluded that the act of throwing acid with an intention of serious bodily harm or murder is a gruesome crime against humanity and stressed that the legal provisions and punitive measures related to acid attack should be amended to make them contemporary. It had instructed the government to immediately take steps to initiate the amendment process.
It has directed the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Home Ministry, Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens and National Women's Commission to address the bodily, mental and emotional toll on the victims, and make arrangements for their effective treatment, and legal and psychiatric consultations.
The committee has instructed the government to provide vocational training and scholarships for the victims in education, and prioritize them for jobs and make their livelihood easier.
Pointing that most of the victims of such attacks are girls and women, it has directed the government to create an environment to inspire the victims to lodge complaint, and make arrangements to immediately address such complaints with sensitivity.
