MAKKAH , 4 June 2006— Tales of uncles attacking fatherless nieces are definitely something rare in Saudi Arabia. Inheritance disputes are widespread in the Kingdom but this horrific tale isn’t just about inheritance but rather about how a widow and her daughters were terrorized by a perverted, drug-addicted uncle who wanted to rape his own niece.
The Al-Nadwa newspaper recently reported how an estranged uncle tried seducing his own niece for months on end. The more she refused his advances the more the uncle grew aggressive leading him to finally severely beat her for refusing him.
Fawziya, a widowed mother of four, recently spoke about the torment she has suffered at the hands of this sex-beast. Fawziya was married to a man with whom she had two daughters. After a short while her husband died and Fawziya married another man with whom she had another two daughters before he also died.
Widowed twice, Fawziya decided not to remarry and rather devote her time to raising her daughters. “My trouble started after the death of my second husband because his family prevented us from inheriting my husband’s money,” Fawziya told Al-Nadwa. Although she did try settling the matter amicably her in-laws ignored her efforts forcing her to file a lawsuit, which resulted in the family severing all ties with Fawziya and her daughters.
“I decided to raise my daughters in a small apartment in Makkah and find a job to support them. Trouble erupted when my second husband’s brother, Mansour, suddenly appeared on our doorstep,” said Fawziya.
The family became happy to find a relative who wanted to maintain a pleasant relationship with them. “Things were very nice until one night Mansour called and asked if my eldest daughter, Bashayer, would come and visit him alone,” said Fawziya. Bashayer became suspicious of her uncle’s intentions and managed to contact his wife on her mobile to ask whether she was at home. To her surprise, Mansour’s wife told Bashayer that she had left home and separated from her husband because of his drug abuse and that she had no intention of coming back. Mansour’s wife also advised Bashayer not to visit him at home alone.
“My daughter called her uncle to tell him that she couldn’t visit him that day and that she would come some other day. But he insisted that she visit him that very day so Bashayer honestly told him that she knew his wife wasn’t home and that she didn’t feel comfortable with meeting him at home while he is alone,” said Fawziya.
The uncle was incensed and came home within half an hour asking to see his niece. When he saw her, he began swearing and beating her till she bled. Fawziya could not believe what Mansour had done and took Bashayer to hospital and then to a police station to file a complaint.
“To my surprise the police officer said it wasn’t a big deal if an uncle disciplined his own niece. I became upset and went home, not knowing what to do. After three days, Mansour returned but this time to apologize for what he had done claiming he was stressed out with work and other things,” said Fawziya.
A few days later he came again to meet Bashayer but Fawziya refused to allow him to meet her in private. “I was shocked when Mansour accused Bashayer of going out with men and talking to them on the phone. He asked her to tell him all her secrets especially about her relationships with guys,” said Fawziya.
Mansour alleged that one of his friends had told him about Bashayer speaking to men at which point Fawziya asked him to leave. “He was lying; we don’t even have a telephone in the house. He left saying he would come and beat us up and that he would look for Bashayer when she went to school,” said Fawziya.
After a short while Mansour returned and broke into the house attacking Bashayer and tried raping her. He beat her using anything he could get his hands on. At this point, Fawziya and her other daughters managed to save Bashayer forcing him to leave the house.
“I live in constant fear that he might harm my daughters and me. In the morning I walk them to school and on the way back I hire a taxi to drive us back. Who would protect me from this vicious man? I don’t have anyone that would support me against this monster,” said Fawziya.
Bashayer lives in constant fear especially when she hears footsteps on the doorstep; she thinks it may be her uncle who has come to attack the family. “He attacked me because I did not submit myself to his dirty wishes and refused to spend a night with him. He beat me like an animal; he is crazy and needs help. When we exposed who and what he really is, he became violent. But there is nothing we can do but wait. There are no males in our family who could protect us,” said Bashayer.
