Rokna Campaign to Support an Afghan Woman in South Tehran / Marjan is a Victim of Her Brother’s Acid Attack! + Video

According to Rokna’s social affairs correspondent, Marjan Niazi is a 32-year-old woman from Herat, Afghanistan. She now lives on the outskirts of Tehran, in a home in Pakdasht, where one by one, her hopes have dimmed behind the window of suffering. Years ago, Marjan came to Iran with her family from Herat. Three years ago, her husband left home for work and never returned. Her mother-in-law, who is also her paternal aunt, is now the only shelter she has in life, and she lives with them.

But what shook Marjan’s destiny to its core was neither poverty, nor migration, nor loneliness. It was violence, coming from a place she least expected — her brother’s home. A brother who claimed to be protective of her, yet under the pretext that she should not work or leave the house, locked the door on her. But the locked door was only the beginning.

Marjan says:“For two weeks, at my brother’s request, I didn’t go to work. During that time, he gave me no money, although I could have earned a living if I had been working. Life isn’t just about eating; I might have needed a doctor, or something else. One night, my brother came into my room with an eye drop and said it would improve my vision. I told him my eyes were fine and I didn’t need any drops. But he ended up putting four drops in each of my eyes. His excuse was that if someone asked me why I wasn’t going to work, I could say my eyes hurt. Eventually, my eyes became swollen, red, and painful, and I realized he had mixed bleach into the drops. But after a few days, my eyes got better.”

She continues:
“When he saw that my condition had improved, he came to me again one night, tied my hands and feet, and covered my mouth so I couldn’t scream. Then he poured four drops of acid directly into each of my eyes. Only God knows how much pain I endured and how much I screamed. From that night on, my world went dark.”

Marjan further adds: “I was imprisoned in my brother’s house for an entire month and cried day and night from the pain. Not even a single painkiller was given to me. He had instructed his wife that I was not allowed to leave the house or do anything. Eventually, after a month, he sent me to my sister’s house and threatened her that if I left, he would do the same to her. One day, my sister accidentally left the key at home, and I escaped to my aunt’s house.”

This woman says: “I was in such a bad condition that they immediately took me to the hospital. Eight months have passed since that day, and my treatment is still ongoing, but the expenses are very high. My brother also had my bank card and didn’t return any of my money.”

She has now undergone tissue transplant surgery for her right eye and must undergo a corneal transplant. Her left eye also suffers from cataracts, wounds, and severe damage. Her vision is poor, and she cannot recognize faces. The cost of treatment is significant. Each surgery costs between 25 to 30 million tomans. Marjan says:
“So far, I’ve spent 150 million tomans just through loans and charitable donations. Now, I don’t even have the money to open a medical case.”

Despite all these wounds and suffering, Marjan has not yet filed a complaint against her brother. She says:
“I told myself, after all, he is my brother and has a wife and children. But now I am following up to press charges, although he constantly threatens me.”

In the end, Marjan has only one request:
“If anyone can help me with my treatment, I would be grateful. I’ve never harmed anyone. I just want to see the world again.”

Bank Account Number: 5894631178415469 – Elham Karimi

The Latest Statistics on Acid Attacks Date Back to 2019!

Kamal Foroutan, Chairman of the Board of the Association for the Support of Acid Attack Victims, announced in 2019:
“On average, about 52 to 53 people fall victim to acid attacks annually in the country. Most of these cases are related to the cities of Tehran and Isfahan. However, victims from other regions also come to Tehran for treatment and medical follow-ups.”

The Struggle of Women for Economic Independence

Yousef Hassanzadeh, an archaeologist and specialist in the Iron Age, spoke to Rokna about the historical evolution of the roles of men and women in society. He said that during the Paleolithic era, when humans lived as hunters, men's physical strength was crucial for survival. Men left home to hunt animals and provide food. This vital role made men’s status prominent during that time.

He continued:
“But with the advent of the Neolithic era, the balance of roles shifted. Women, as the first farmers, stayed at home and began activities such as agriculture and production.”

Men See Themselves as Hunters Even if They No Longer Hunt

Hassanzadeh, referring to later social changes, said:
“With the emergence of specialization and the rise of urban life, society underwent transformation. Men gained dominance through warfare and territorial conquests, taking on a more prominent role, while women were pushed to the margins. Domestic tasks, spinning, and more delicate work were assigned to women. Since then, a masculine mindset has been ingrained in society and still persists. Men see themselves as ‘hunters,’ even if they no longer hunt. There is still a belief that if a man is absent, the family will starve.”

This Iron Age expert emphasized the importance of women’s economic independence:
“If a woman is financially self-sufficient, no man — whether a brother or a husband — can impose his will on her. But if a woman is dependent on a man, she must accept that dependence. Women today have realized that the path to independence is through financial empowerment. Men have also subconsciously understood this, which is why some seek to maintain their authority by preventing women’s economic growth — whether through restrictive laws or as a brother who, out of a sense of honor, stops his sister from working.”

He further stated: “Our society lacks proper education. Our educational system provides students with rote memorization rather than fostering critical thinking and teaching social skills. These memorized facts have little application in real life. We still try to convince the new generation with clichéd statements, but today’s youth no longer accept such phrases. They ask: ‘If I had no choice in being born, don’t you, as a parent, have responsibilities toward me?’”

Hassanzadeh concluded with a warning:
“If we cannot provide real answers to the younger generation, we will suppress them — with traditional behavior, with unequal laws, and with outdated norms. A society that tries to solve today’s social issues with standards from a hundred years ago only creates crises. A girl who says, ‘I want to work so I can be financially independent,’ should not be silenced.”