TAIF: Police have forced a Saudi man to hand over his 10-year-old daughter to the Social Protection Committee on Tuesday following allegations that her stepmother has been beating her.
The girl, called Sarah and whose stepmother is non-Saudi, lives in Taif and has run away three times this year, claiming her stepmother beats her. She left home for the first time early this year, calling at the home of a family that lived close by and then tried to commit suicide in the street.
Her biological mother then took her in, but she was subsequently returned to her father and stepmother. Sarah then ran away a second time with a fellow classmate two weeks ago and went to live with a family, which notified the police.
She was then returned to her father, who signed a letter promising to visit the Social Protection Committee, something that he failed to do.
Sarah then left home for a third time, claiming her stepmother was beating her, something that spurred police to force the girl’s father to hand her over to the Social Protection Committee, which is investigating the case and working to find a solution. Sarah is thought to suffer from mental problems and has called on the Social Protection Committee and the National Society for Human Rights to protect her.
The 10-year-old underwent treatment at Taif’s King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital recently. According to a medical report, Sarah had bruises across her body and cuts to her feet.
