Saudi Arabian society has recently been forced to come to terms with some horrendous crimes against women in the Kingdom.
In the latest of a series of cases related to domestic violence, a man murdered his ex-wife in a health-center in Riyadh. The man had been waiting to kill his ex-wife for a considerable time and had been watching his her coming to and fro from work. On the fatal day the deranged ex-husband attacked the woman repeatedly, stabbing her to death.
Not long ago a similar crime took place in Qaseem where a husband mercilessly murdered his wife in front of their children. Domestic violence and especially domestic murder is a growing phenomenon in Saudi Arabian society. Figures show that domestic murders occur far more than car-related crime and assaults not involving relatives.
Domestic violence is a serious and dangerous crime and there are reasons why partners behave violently. Such crimes are a blemish on our Islamic society not to mention the negative effects that are left on the families of crime victims.
The crime that took place in Riyadh shocked Saudi society not to mention the mental anguish suffered by employees at the health-center, a supposedly secure venue. Sources say that employees were so taken aback by the murder that all were given psychiatric counseling. To make matters worse, according to newspapers, the police had failed to act even though they had been told time and again that the man had threatened to kill his ex-wife.
The police seriously needs to review the way they handle reports involving death threats. What procedures do the police adopt in protecting people that are threatened? Are the complaints filed by women actually taken seriously? Or are they ignored only to be looked at after crimes are committed?
The police definitely need to explain their procedures and the media need to lead the way in opening up the subject for mainstream discussion. But fundamentally the police need to pay more attention to women that are threatened by husbands, ex-partners, brothers, fathers, relatives and anyone else.
On a final note, I wrote a few months ago about a mother of seven daughters whose ex-husband, a drug-addict, had spent time in prison and hospital for drug addiction. In my article I mentioned how this man, who has a history of violence, regularly telephones his ex-wife and threatens to kill her and their children and says that he will wait for them outside their home or school.
This woman has repeatedly written to newspapers trying to find solutions to her problems, and as I write this the authorities have yet to take action in protecting her and her daughters. I really wonder if in her case it will be too late before anyone reacts.
