Sangita Magar () is a Nepalese woman who became an activist for victims' rights after surviving an

acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...

. She and a friend were attacked when she was 16, but managed to take her SLC exam 25 days later. She subsequently fought to change laws pertaining to victims of such attacks and to the unregulated sale of acid.

Biography

Sangita Magar was a 16-year-old school girl when she was attacked on 22 February 2015, at Shanti Nikunja School in

Basantapur, Kathmandu Kathmandu Durbar Square (''Basantapur Durbar Kshetra'') is located in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom and is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNES ...

, where she was preparing for her

Secondary School Leaving Certificate The Secondary School Leaving Certificate (commonly referred to as SSLC) is a certification obtained by a student on successful completion of an examination at the end of study at the secondary schooling level in India. The SSLC is obtained o ...

(SLC) with her friend Sima Basnet, aged 15. Four masked men forced them into a room and splashed the acid on them. After the attack she went through treatments at the

Kathmandu Medical College Kathmandu Medical College And Teaching Hospital (KMCTH) is a medical school located in Kathmandu the capital city of Nepal. Established in 1997, KMC is a private medical college in Nepal. The college is permanently affiliated to Kathmandu Univ ...

; Sima Basnet was admitted to

Bir Hospital Bir Hospital (बीर अस्पताल) is the oldest and one of the busiest hospitals in Nepal. It is located at the center of Kathmandu city. The hospital is run by the National Academy of Medical Sciences, a government agency since 2003 ...

. Magar's father told ''

The Kathmandu Post ''The Kathmandu Post'' is a major daily newspaper published in Nepal. Founded in February 1993 by Shyam Goenka, it is one of the largest English-language newspapers in the country. The newspaper is independently owned and published by Kantipur ...

'', "Three other girls and my daughter were studying on their own after their teacher was late to arrive in the class. The attackers entered by breaking the door and threw acid at them". While undergoing treatment, she became suicidal, considering taking her life by jumping out of the hospital window. An investigation revealed that a 20-year-old man who lived in the same building as Magar carried out the attack. The attacker claimed he was a jilted lover, but Magar denied ever having been involved with him, and that she barely ever interacted with him. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail for attempted murder; but in the courtroom he smiled, showing no remorse, and threatening revenge. She did not leave the house for three years. Sima Basnet wrote the then-Prime Minister of Nepal,

Sushil Koirala Sushil Prasad Koirala (; 12 August 1931 – 9 February 2016) was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015. He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier serve ...

, to request that they be allowed to take the exam for their

(SLC), despite still being in hospital. Koirala ordered the Ministry of Education to grant the request; Sima, at the Bir Hospital, took the exam by herself, while Sangita got assistance at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital. Nepal averages around 40 acid attacks per year, and victims like Magar were not entitled to any immediate payment to help with urgent medical care. In 2017, Magar and Basnet were plaintiffs in a case supported also by Forum for Women, Law and Development, a women's rights group, that challenged Nepal's laws on acid and burn violence, a case that resulted in the Nepalese Supreme Court ordering for victims to get immediate financial support for treatment. In addition, the court ordered that penalties for committing acid attacks be increased from three to ten years' imprisonment. These decisions became law in August 2018, with hospitals now providing free immediate treatment to acid attack victims. Since then, Magar has been fighting to stop the unregulated sale of the acids used in such attacks, for life punishment for those who commit such attacks, and for more support for acid attack survivors, including compensation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magar, Sangita 1990s births Acid attack victims Living people Nepalese activists Nepalese women activists Women human rights activists Year of birth missing (living people)