A seventeen-year-old girl, survivor of an acid attack, has said the 10-year sentence handed down to the perpetrator Jiwan BK is not enough.

A single bench of Judge Hari Pratap KC of the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday sentenced 20-year-old BK, to 10 years in jail for throwing acid at Sangita Magar and her friend at a coaching centre in Jhhonchhe, Basantapur, in Kathmandu, on February 22.

 “I am happy that he (BK) is finally behind bars. It was a long wait and one of the hardest in my life,” said Magar. “But I think he got away easily,” she added, expressing dissatisfaction over the 10-year sentence. “The punishment is not enough considering the effect BK’s act has had on us. I was expecting a longer jail term [for him].”

“The incident changed my life. I can’t get enough nerve to look in the mirror. Ten years in jail is too little a price BK will be paying for ruining one’s life,” she added.

Magar appeared in SLC exams a month after she went through the life-threatening incident. But she says she has not been able to gather courage to go to the college. The left part of her face, including eye, nose and ear, does not function. According to Chuni, the mother, her face has not softened enough for operation on these crucial organs. “She wanted to go to college and become a nurse,” said a dejected Chuni. “She cannot go to the toilet alone now.”

Chuni, who used to work as a daily wage earner at a catering house, has left her job to look after daughter.

The court order on Sunday came in line with a recent amendment made by the government regarding gender-based violence. After the amendment, the maximum jail term for those guilty of acid attacks has been increased up to eight years from earlier three years.