“The fact that women are highly educated, and have high social statuses and lofty work positions cannot protect them from being abused,” said Dr. Suhaila Zain Al-Abidin, a member of the NSHR, adding that domestic violence is now rampant and difficult to stop.

“Men are violent by nature. The physical characteristics of men and their personalities allow them to be violent with women without feeling guilty,” she said, adding that it is wrong to link violence to religion, customs and education.

“Islam has given women rights as well as duties. There are Qur’anic verses that mention the equality of men and women,” she added.

Zain Al-Abidin feels there is a need to create awareness of rights among women. “Many Saudi women are ignorant of their rights. They have no idea how to stop the violence or report abuse,” she added.

According to the NSHR official, domestic violence exists in small villages and large cities. “Statistics show that there are more incidents of domestic violence in the Makkah region than in the Riyadh and Dammam areas,” she said. She, however, attributed this to women in the Western Province being more prone to report abuse. “That is why the NSHR registered a large number of domestic violence cases in the Makkah region in comparison to Riyadh and Dammam,” she said. “A battered woman should never think she is the only one suffering from violence. She should come forward and report those who are abusing her,” she said, adding that some women are forced to suffer in silence because they are totally dependent on their husbands.

“Most of the cases that we received in Riyadh and Makkah are very violent — women have been physically and psychologically abused, kicked, hit, bitten, thrown around, held tightly, had things thrown at them and sexually abused,” she said.

“Men in the Western Province have a different way of abusing women. This is usually due to drug addiction and includes sexual harassment, and denial of rights to education and work, and in some cases taking away their salaries,” she added. She added that there is no clear law defending women in Saudi courts and women who approach courts are often ignored. “We do not have tough laws that can protect women or ensure their rights. When courts receive cases of domestic violence and those who are making the allegations have evidence, they then often hand the accused a light punishment, such as a small fine,” she said. The NSHR recently received a case of a 12-year-old girl called Afrah who was forced to marry an elderly man, who would beat her and sexually abuse her. “Afrah and her mother went to court. Afrah had fractured bones and broken teeth. The judge handed the old man a SR1,200 fine, which wasn’t even enough for her medical treatment. The judge also asked Afrah to return her dowry and any other gifts she had received when she married, such as jewelry, to get a divorce,” said Zain Al-Abidin.

Women who are in Misyar marriages are also suffering. “I received a case of a Saudi woman who was being abused by her ex-husband who she had married in a Misyar contract. The husband divorced her, but he still insisted on continuing sexual relations and would beat her for this,” she said.

Khaled Abu-Rashed, a Saudi lawyer and vice president of the Paris-based International Justice Organization, said, “Saudi courts should not be blamed… men who abuse their wives are punished with lashes and jail sentences. The number of lashes is based on the severity of the violence.” Hala Mohammed, a Saudi housewife who was married to an elderly man who had sons from his previous wives, suffered abuse at the hands of her husband and elderly son.

“Once my husband went to Germany for medical treatment. The son came to my apartment and tried to force me to give him some work documents that my husband had hidden in my bedroom. I, however, refused,” she said. “He beat me, swore at me and even tried to rip off my clothes. One of my friends is married to a police officer. The police came and arrested my husband’s son, his brothers and sisters,” she said.

“My husband then rang from Germany and forced me to drop the case,” she said, adding that when he returned to Jeddah, he beat her and their son and that she ended up with a broken arm. “He stopped giving me money and now my son’s friends give us money to live,” she said.