Domestic violence growing
Abeer Mishkhas; 26/6/08
A father brutally beats his 17-year-old daughter with a piece of wood. She is taken to a hospital where she subsequently dies. The reason? She got in touch with her mother who was divorced from the girl’s father. Thus ended the story carried in Al-Watan newspaper. The tragedy, however, opens the door onto something bigger and much worse — the trend to violence in Saudi society. And not just violence but violence against close family members. This case is not the first of its kind. Many of us remember another well-publicized case, that of Ghossoun, a 9-year-old girl who was tortured by her father and stepmother. She too finally died in a hospital. There are of course other cases that make it into the newspapers from time to time — victims may be daughter, wives or children. There is a common thread running through all of them and that thread is violent and uncontrolled behavior.
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=111265&d=26&m=6&y=2008
Tags: Domestic Violence, Marriage, Saudi Arabia