JEDDAH, 24 November 2005 — Six-year-old Rahaf, who was brutally abused by her stepmother, lies alone in King Faisal Hospital in Taif. She has been there since her teachers brought her in on Sunday.
According to the police in Taif, the girl’s father has dropped all charges against his wife for abusing his daughter.
With red slashes on her back, her condition is still unstable physically as well as psychologically.
“She cries all the time,” a hospital source informed Arab News.
“Her father tried to move her to Al-Odwani Hospital but the King Faisal Hospital would not allow him to since the case is now in the hands of the police,” the source added.
According to the same source, Rahaf’s paternal aunt also came to the hospital and wanted to take the child with her. When the hospital refused, she washed her hands of any involvement, saying, “It’s none of my business.”
Rahaf is scheduled to leave the hospital on Saturday depending on her condition.
The National Society for Human Rights is now involved in the case. Al-Jowhara Al-Angari, head of the Family and Child Cases Committee, went to Taif yesterday.
This is the latest case of child abuse in the Kingdom. On Nov. 1, Arab News reported that a man in Riyadh stripped his 10-year-old daughter and beat her severely.
