Readers of newspapers noticed the growing number of stories this year about family violence directed at women and children. Most of these cases get transferred to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), which was formed in March 2004 to receive and investigate abuse complaints. Physical, sexual, financial and psychological abuse against women and children are handled by the NSHR’s Family Committee.
The NSHR met in January with the president of the high court in Makkah to discuss laws and regulations regarding sexual abuse within the family. The meeting was spurred in part by a sexual abuse lawsuit filed that month on behalf of two teenage girls against their father. The girls sought the death penalty, saying that he ruined their lives.
The father was sentenced to 10 years in jail, but the sentence was later reduced to five years. “If we can’t have a death sentence for such a crime then we should at least pass a life sentence,” said NSHR Family Committee Chairwoman Jowhara Al-Angary.
In March, Indonesian housemaid Nour Miyati was taken to a Riyadh hospital by her sponsor showing clear signs of abuse, including injuries to her eyes and teeth. Some of her fingers and toes had to be amputated due to gangrene, a sign that injuries had gone untreated. Initially, Miyati accused her sponsor of the abuse, claiming that he beat her and tied her up in the bathroom for a month.
Miyati later retracted her accusations against her sponsor and was subsequently jailed for making false accusations. Two days later, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman ordered the maid’s release. She was taken under the protection of the Al-Nahda Women’s Charity Society in August. She was later releasing to the care of her lawyer, Nasser Al-Dandani, who was appointed by the Indonesian Embassy. As a diplomatic protest, Indonesia banned the recruitment of maids for five months.
Miyati was sentenced in late December to 79 lashes for the false accusations that she made against her sponsor. The sponsor’s wife who admitted beating her was sentenced to 35 lashes. No sentence will be implemented on the sponsor due to the lack of evidence against him. The judge may yet rule in favor of monetary compensation to Miyati.
Emotional abuse is another harmful problem affecting children. According to a study by Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, a psychologist and counselor for children and teenagers at Al-Amal Health Compound in Riyadh, 26.6 percent of Saudi children are emotionally abused. He also found that, due to parental negligence, 9.4 percent of Saudi children are not receiving medical treatment when they complain of pain or discomfort.
The research also found that a significant number of children in the Kingdom are being denied an education. Dr. Al-Zahrani also said that many parents are using excessive force when they use corporeal punishment to discipline their children. Citing the study, the doctor called for stricter laws against child abuse.
An Arab News report in May covered a sad case of a father who was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing his five daughters. The mother went to the authorities after the eldest daughter, 18, had her second abortion after being impregnated a second time by her father. During the court proceedings, it was discovered that the father was addicted to drugs and suspected his wife of infidelity, a suspicion he took out on his children.
Again, child advocates complained of lenient punishments for such crimes. “Five years are not enough for such a crime,” said Dr. Wafa Al-Saadi, psychologist and sociologist. “That father should be executed.”
Spousal abuse was also a theme of family abuse in 2005. In June, Arab News reported the story of D.T., a woman who was married for 25 years and who suffered from her husband’s maltreatment. She was forbidden to eat with him. If she did not follow his rules, he would beat her brutally. He denied her any allowances and made her feel that she should be thankful to be fed and living in the house.
Married at 14 years of age, D.T. said for years she thought it was normal for a husband to treat his wife in such a deplorable manner. Eventually she grew wiser.
“I packed my things and decided to travel to the city where my parents live. He took me to the airport,” D.T. told Arab News. “When I got to my destination, I found that he hadn’t shipped my things and wouldn’t allow my children to call me. I had to return for the sake of my children.”
Depressed, D.T. tried to commit suicide and afterward went for psychological treatment.
In July, Interior Minister Prince Naif approved the founding of a committee to deal with the problem of women and child abuse in the Kingdom. The first committee was set up in Jeddah and is run by Al-Bir Charitable Society.
“As a humanitarian society we have the first-hand experience in dealing with mistreated women and children,” Saleh Al-Turki from Al-Bir told Arab News.
In August, Deputy Minister for Labor Affairs Ahmad Mansour Al-Zamil warned that employers who fail to defend the rights of their domestic help to receive their salaries in time would be banned from recruitment and their applications to the ministry will not be processed. He noted that the ministry receives complaints from maids who have been sexually harassed, physically abused, or not given their salaries.
Women and child victims of domestic violence received their first shelter in the Kingdom in October, constructed and administered by Al-Bir Charitable Society. The shelter was approved by Prince Naif last July who recognized the need for a refuge from domestic abuse.
The shelter, which can house up to 150 victims of abuse at a time, is working with UNICEF to collect data on domestic violence in Saudi Arabia. Social workers are also on staff to provide counseling.
In November, six-year-old girl Rahaf was admitted to King Faisal Hospital in Taif by concerned teachers who had discovered red slashes on her back. During the police investigation, allegations of abuse by the girl’s stepmother emerged. After the father refused to press charges, the NSHR intervened and filed its own complaint against the stepmother, claiming public interest in the case. The trial is ongoing and Rahaf is currently under the custody of her father’s uncle.
Arab News reported in December the case of L.S., an Egyptian-Canadian woman and a mother of four girls and a son, who was recently divorced from to a Tunisian man. The woman won the custody of all her children after proving that the father was abusing the daughters. However, three of the girls remain in his custody as he appeals the case. L.S. currently lives with her baby boy and the oldest daughter, 14, who ran away from the abusive father. In vengeance against the girl, the father withdrew her school records and as a result she is currently unable to attend classes.
The NSHR told Arab News that they have received and investigated 5,000 cases, 30 percent of which relate to domestic violence. “This is a huge percentage,” said NSHR Research Director Suhaila Hammad.
NSHR Family Committee Chairwoman Jowhara Al-Angary has also called for the need for family courts in the Kingdom, according to Al-Madinah daily. The Ministry of Justice and the NSHR are in the process of working out the details of the family court, which would address divorce proceedings, as well as cases of domestic violence.
The problem of domestic abuse is increasingly under the public spotlight. This year saw more attention being paid toward these cases, forcing authorities to deal with these issues in the area of public interest. Hopefully, next year will find a reduction in the number of these cases, for the sake of the family and the public at large.
Here’s to a Happy New Year free of domestic violence!
