This paper is a feminist critical reflection on the acid attacks on women in Esfahan, Iran, in October 2014. In this paper, I argue that the state-nation relationship in Iran led to the introduction of legislation that was even more patriarchal than it was before. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the marginalization of women shaped a different silhouette, and in accordance, the configuration of women’s resistance was different in a way that the autocratic state could not tolerate. As a result, a series of acid attacks occurred in one of the most well-known historical cities of Iran, Esfahan, in which, at least based on news reports, four women were victimized. This article, analyzes the social, cultural, religious, and political aspects of this attack and women’s resistance and its impact on the law of the current constitution of Iran.
Keywords: acid attack, state-nation, Shari’ah, Islam, women’s rights, identity, violence against women