[ad_1]
Issued on: Modified:
People across Iraq have been horrified by an acid attack on a young woman who spurned a suitor’s advances. A man broke into the home of 16-year-old fine arts student Maryam Rukabi on December 16 and covered her with acid, burning and disfiguring her face – all because the teenager had turned down his marriage proposal. After the report about Maryam’s story aired on television, donations poured in and she will now be able to travel abroad for treatment, including facial reconstruction surgery. Maryam, however, wants more than that – she wants justice.
The actual attack took place on June 10, 2021. Sixteen-year-old Maryam Rukabi was sleeping in her bed when a masked man entered her room and poured acid on her face. After spending months in hospital, Maryam and her parents gave an interview to Iraqi TV channel I News on December 16.
Maryam’s mother explained that her daughter met this man on social media and that he had asked her to marry him several times.
“Maryam said again and again that she didn’t want to get married and that she wanted to finish her studies,” Maryam’s mother said.
The reports about Maryam sparked an outpouring of support on social media. On Twitter, people called for donations to help cover her medical expenses under the hashtag “Save Princess Maryam”.
A GoFundMe page set up for Maryam raised more than $90,000 (nearly €80,000) for medical care in just a few days. Health Minister Hani Moussa and prominent businessman Saad al-Bazaa also pledged publicly to cover the cost of the teenager’s medical care abroad.
“I don’t just want care, I want justice,” said the victim.
Maryam’s parents have brought charges against the alleged attacker and a suspected accomplice, but there’s been little…
[ad_2]
Source : france24
