JEDDAH, 27 April 2006 — The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has sounded an alarm bell about the increasing instances of domestic violence against men being reported in the Kingdom.
An increasing number of men have been complaining about their wives beating them up or pouring boiling oil on them, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.
Al-Jawhara Al-Angari, chairperson of the family committee of the NSHR, said in a statement to the media that though the number of the cases of violence against men are fewer compared to violence against women and children, the reports of women torturing husbands both physically and mentally are on the increase. In some cases it’s the sons threatening their fathers.
Al-Angari attributed the tendency among women to be cruel against their men to such factors as a forceful personality, the age difference, marriages in which men seek financial dependence on women and the couple being a total mismatch. Instances where sons abuse their fathers are often linked to drug abuse.
While several men agree that they witness a notable increase in violent tendencies in women, a young woman said to Al-Watan that her healthy aunt used to exploit the advanced age of her uncle to pounce on him and beat him up on a regular basis.
“Once she broke one of his teeth and on another occasion she broke his fingers. Her aunt’s attacks eventually injured his spinal column,” the young woman recalled.
“Some of my friends are afraid to go home,” said Hassan Al-Asiri, a government employee. “Instead they prefer to stay in some hotels unknown to their wives, presumably to escape violence.”
Saeed Al-Amri, a scholar, told the paper that women who abuse their husbands take advantage of the men’s weaknesses.
“Some women do not know the basic principles of a married life, particularly the working women who exploit their husbands’ poverty or weak personality,” said Al-Amri. “Men often keep quiet about the brutal behavior of their wives, and even their illicit relationship with other men, because they do not want their family to break up and children become homeless.”
Abdullah Al-Humaid, director of endowments, call and guidance in the Asir region, said, “Islam calls upon all believers to build their families on a strong foundation. It designates man as the family’s supporter. Man is responsible for the family expenses and holding the unit together. Therefore he should possess a strong personality with commonsense and he should never create a situation in which a woman is allowed to dominate him. It does not mean that he should be rough and brutal in treating his wife. The relationship should always be seasoned with wisdom, patience and rationality.”
Muhammad Al-Harbi, director general of the social protection department at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Riyadh, said: “Of course there are several instances of violence against men in our society, but they are not reported and statistics about them are virtually nil. In fact the department has not received any complaint of female violence.”
Al-Harbi attributed the absence of complaints to a number of reasons, such as a social sense of honor that considers such complaining a slur on the male image.
