Summary of Sanaa's tragedy in English by Dr.Shahinaz Bedri from Harvard Medical School

Quote: Dear Marilyn, I hope you have been doing fine. I am writing after a long time to request your kind and urgent support with a serious case of women's rights abuses from Sudan, a girl named: Sanaa Awadelkarim whose right to life and safety of person has seriously been breached by her husband who married her against her will, yet under pressures from her father when she was less than the age of maturity (at 17 years). Worse still the husband -after mistreating her for quite a while burned her face with Caustic Soda and there she is mutilated and depressed. Please note that the husband did his crime with help from the girl's brother. According to some sources, he made the brother think the flammable material is "holy water" to make her get back with him. We have launched a campaign of donations and support in the following areas: 1. Medical treatment; 2. Legal assistance in Sudan; I beleive that what is still needed is: 1. Strong international support from a credible body like Amnesty International; 2. Proper psychological treatment for the young lady after this major trauma. With March 8th approaching, and as this case means a lot to all of us, women's rights defenders, we really hope that Amnesty International may take it up for its Urgent Actions or intervene with whichever possible support on the international level. I would like to add that the husband was released on bail, after his trial, and he did not hesitate to marry another girl after he mutilated Sanaa. Please find attached a summary prepared by one of the contributors to the campaign, with Sanaa's before (right) and after (left) pictures. We look forward to hearing from you, and are ready to provide you with all necessary information and contacts to reach Sanaa. Many thanks and best regards, Dr. Iman Ahmed