I have received many calls and letters from women who say that we female writers are not focusing on the real problems faced by women. The letter-writers and callers accuse us of working from a closed office where we are unaware that many of our sisters are regularly suffering beatings and physical assault. They say that we only highlight issues when one of us writers is beaten or assaulted. Some women claim that they are beaten often by their husbands for no reason. One woman even said that her husband beats her when he comes home from work and the food is not on the table.
Despite what the letter-writers and callers say, we have written about all these problems. We have also included in our writings opinions from religious scholars. Unfortunately, nothing changes and we see little improvement. Now we hope that the situation of battered women will improve since a human rights committee has been established in Saudi Arabia. We want it to be more active and closer to ordinary people, especially women and children. I think that the committee could increase its effectiveness if it had a phone number for women to call in cases of domestic violence.
If the women cannot get satisfaction from the committee, then it could at least direct them to where they could. The committee could also publicize what rights women have and what they can do if those rights are violated.
The committee should also concentrate on victims of domestic violence as much as they are concentrating on work-related issues. It makes no sense that government hospitals treat women battered by their husbands and then send them back home without questioning or investigating the causes. The least that should be done is to have the husband sign a document that he will not repeat his assault and if he does, he will be punished.
There are many battered women, as we know, who do not even go to hospitals despite their injuries; instead, they treat themselves at home. The committee should be active and start providing some real service to the community or it will risk just becoming one more of our useless committees.
