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Sakhi Anniversary Gala To Honor Survivor Of A Murder Attempt

Arthur J Pais in New York

When Sakhi for South Asian Women planned a gala benefit dinner to commemorate its 10-year anniversary, hardly any of its activists thought they would have a big victory to be thankful for.

The victory materialized when last week a jury in Queen's Supreme Court found computer technician Mohammed Mohsin guilty of trying to kill his wife Syeda Sufian by pouring gasoline on her.

Prema Vora, a Sakhi leader, says the organization had championed Sufian's case for over three years, held a demonstration in front of Mohsin's home, helped Sufian rehabilitate emotionally and physically but had not hoped for a victory so soon.

"The law takes its own time," Vora says. "But when the verdict came it sent a signal to all people that domestic violence is a crime -- and no ethnic community can indulge in it."

Now, Sufian and the prosecutor Davanand Singh who fought her case will be the guests of honor at the Sakhi gala on June 5 at the Diwan Grill in New York.

Sufian is expected to speak at the gala. She would also speak before the judge when Mohsin is sentenced. Her address could help the judge decide the length of the sentence that could vary from eight and half years to 25 years.

Mohsin denies marrying her and says Sufian herself poured gasoline on her to win his sympathy to coax him into marrying her. He is expected to appeal the case. Mohsin is in his early thirties, and Sufian, contrary to earlier reports, is 24. Both are immigrants from Bangladesh.

Sakhi helped Sufian go through psychological counseling after she was released from the hospital. It is also helping her get a green card.

"When Sufian was rescued by the neighbors and was recovering in the hospital, Mohsin threatened her that she would be deported to Bangladesh," Vora says.

"She is here," Vora continued, "and she is going to get her green card."

Under the new immigration laws, Mohsin -- like other green card holders found guilty of serious crime -- could be deported.

"Sufian's victory should let other abused women realize that the threat of deportation does not have to work," Vora added.

Sufian, whose face, hands and other parts of the body, still have scars from the incident, hugged Vora, and cried when she heard of the verdict. She was not in the court when the verdict was read but joined the prosecutors and Sakhi volunteers within an hour.

"No man should ever treat a woman the way he treated me," Sufian said after the verdict.

Mohsin's lawyers, who called the verdict "a horrible miscarriage of justice," stressed that she had poured gasoline to get Mohsin's attention. They said the jury bought Sufian's story -- which was presented in gruesome details as she showed her scars to the jury -- and disregarded the facts.

The prosecutors said an enraged Mohsin emerged from the bathroom of their apartment when Sufian was washing dishes and yelled: "See how I am going to kill you."

He disregarded her screams and warning: "You can't get away with this. We are in America, you know."

He lit a match -- and she began to burn in a few seconds. "I thought I was going to die -- and my family is nowhere around me," she said, recalling her thoughts.

But her own heroic efforts to put off the fire and the screams saved Sufian's life. Thirty per cent of her body suffered burns.

Davanand Singh said the verdict sent a message to all abused women: "The criminal justice system will not turn a deaf ear to women who muster the courage to stand up to their abuses."

Sakhi gala details

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