Saving Face 2012

This Academy Award-winning short documentary examines the issue of acid violence in Pakistan and the remarkable efforts of plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad to improve the lives of the victims. The film centers on several women whose faces have been disfigured by acid, often at the hands of their husbands, and it documents the scale of the problem—over a hundred attacks reported each year—and the hopeful response embodied by a free clinic established in Islamabad. The narrative follows Jawad as he discusses his medical work and the personal resolve that drives him to act, a resolve encapsulated in his belief that he “must do something.”

he “must do something.”

As the women recount their experiences, the film highlights Zakia, a 39-year-old who bears deep scars on one side of her face after an abusive, addicted husband, Pervez, assaulted her during their divorce proceedings. Pervez is arrested, and in the police wagon he protests his innocence, claiming that someone else attacked Zakia and suggesting a conspiracy against him, while his father asserts that Zakia had an adulterous affair. The camera also follows 25-year-old Rukhsana, who tearfully explains that her husband, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law attempted to burn her to death, driving her back into a household where her children fall ill. At her home, she shows the room where she was attacked and recounts the events, whereas her husband Yasir denies the abuse, insisting she set herself on fire in a moment of anger.

The women come together at a support group, sharing their stories and finding solidarity. Zakia and her son Waheed then meet with her lawyer, Sarkar Abbas, who outlines her plans for Pervez’s trial and emphasizes the goal of setting a legal precedent for prosecuting acid violence through Zakia’s case. A stakeholders’ meeting convenes to debate new crime legislation, with discussions about whether acid attacks should be punishable by death or a reciprocal action. Rukhsana speaks to the group, while Marvi Memon, a member of Parliament, explains that the proposed crime bill seeks life imprisonment for such crimes.

As the legal and social battles unfold, Zakia begins to suffer increasingly severe pain from her injuries, and Jawad lays out a surgical plan to restore greater facial symmetry and elasticity. In the hospital, he works to repair the damage, explaining the reality that facial recovery includes both functional and aesthetic goals. The operation involves applying artificial tissue and consulting an optical surgeon, but the team discovers that her eye and eye socket cannot be saved. After the procedure, Jawad discusses further possibilities with Zakia, laying out a path of staged surgeries.

Back at home, Rukhsana reveals how the violence has structurally separated her from her daughter, and she learns that she is eight weeks pregnant. Although her surgery is delayed, she holds on to the hope that a new child will bring happiness, hoping for a boy since, in her society, girls’ lives are often harder. The Parliament’s life-imprisonment bill is passed unanimously, a moment celebrated by all involved. Zakia testifies against her husband with her face covered, and the verdict is delayed as the case moves forward. When the court finally delivers its decision, Pervez receives two life sentences—the first case under the new law—much to the relief of Zakia and her supporters.

In the aftermath, Zakia shares the news with Jawad, who then brings in a specialist to create an external facial prosthesis that she can secure with glasses. Rukhsana welcomes a son named Mohammad and looks ahead to continuing her treatment with Jawad, who notes that he is “saving his own face” as well as the women’s, recognizing that he is part of a society grappling with a “disease” of violence. With a renewed sense of dignity, Zakia steps outside without her veil and glasses, carrying new hope for a future where her life can unfold with greater freedom and possibilities.