Family Life

08.01.11 | Sarah Harnisch

  An Iranian woman has captivated the world-- with a dramatic story of forgiveness. 34-year-old Ameneh Bahrami refused a marriage proposal in 2004, and in responce, the man that wanted to wed her tossed acid on her face, disfiguring her and costing her her eyesite. Islamic law requires "an eye for an eye"-- so Sunday, before millions of people on state t.v., her attacker sat in a hospital operating room, waiting for a doctor to douse his face in acid. He sat on his knees and wept. That's when Bahrami asked the doctor to spare his life-- crying out at the last moment "I forgave him, I forgave him." The attacker will still have to stay in jail until a court decides on an alternate punishment, and he'll have to pay 200-thousand-dollars in compensation. Over 2-thousand women are injured in acid attacks in Asia and the Middle East every year, though Human Rights groups say the number is vastly under-reported. Bahrami said she'd considered allowing him to be punished with acid so the suffering is not repeated for other women, but in the end, forgiveness won out.