MAKKAH, 27 January 2007 — Though they all share the same surroundings for the time being, women inmates in Makkah’s penitentiaries wonder what will happen to them once they depart on separate paths once released from prison.

The Arabic daily Al-Nadwah interviewed women inmates recently to get a glimpse of their lives before prison and what challenges they face upon release. “My father forced me to marry a man of his choice,” said inmate Nurwa, whose family name and age was not mentioned in the report.

“I tried my best to satisfy my husband, to be a good wife. However, he was never thankful. After living with him for 20 years, and after having eight children, he decided to divorce me and marry another woman. I could not believe it, so I decided to kill him. But I was not strong enough; I screamed when I saw him bleeding. I was arrested and he was taken to the intensive care where he stayed for five months.”

Nahla, who succeeded in killing her husband, said she lived a happy life and had five children.

“I cooperated with my husband to buy a house,” she said. “I was working and I gave him my salary, my jewelry, and I even got some loans from the bank. I helped in every possible way. But my reward was a new wife who shared my home. Then my husband tried to kick me out. I didn’t hesitate to shoot him.”

Lulwa said she killed her brother after he harassed and sexually molested her.

“I got divorced from my husband who was addicted to drugs,” she said. “I then had to live with my brother because my father was dead. Unfortunately my brother also had a drug problem and one night came in and harassed me. I killed him with a knife and surrendered myself to the police. I really don’t know how long will I be here.”

Sara Al-Radadi, a woman in her 30s, said she was happy to find a wealthy husband, but her mother-in-law was a problem.

“I married him but he was a weak man; he only listened to his mother,” she said. “She harassed me all the time. I thought giving her two grandchildren would shut her up. But it didn’t. She turned my life into hell and therefore I plotted to kill her. But she was saved, I was caught, and here I am, serving 15 years in prison.”

L.A., a woman in her 40s who had worked at a high school for more than 15 years, said she fell in love with her Saudi driver, who was much younger.

“He convinced me to buy land and build a house; he also urged me to get loans to buy him a car,” she said.

“Eventually I got into a situation where I accumulated debts amounting to SR500,000 and I had no means of paying back. Now I’m in prison because of this and the young man has refused to help me or take any responsibility for where I am today,” said L.A.

Dr. Hala Al-Ali, a social service psychologist in Riyadh, said these women are in prison because of the stress of everyday life.

“They are psychologically ill,” she said. “They failed to cope with their environment and they chose violence to solve their problems. Nonetheless, they are victims of their circumstances. They face ignorance or bad treatment from their husbands and in-laws. Women can be more aggressive than men because their nervous systems are weaker. Thirty percent of the prisoners are victims of men’s attitudes, and the rest are victims of their families.”