JEDDAH, 24 August 2006 — With an aim of tackling a growing phenomenon of husbands suffering violence at the hands of their wives, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has opened a new file to deal with women who trouble men, reported the Al-Madinah newspaper.
According to the NSHR, cases of wives beating their husbands are growing; this year alone the human rights body has dealt with 23 cases. The NSHR now fears that the problem may grow to an uncontrollable level. Many of the men involved in the cases say they are subjected to both physical and mental violence and many complain that they have been denied access to their children for years.
One tormented elderly Saudi man, who prefers to remain anonymous, married a woman 27 years younger than him. “I lived with her under the impression that she loved me the same way that I loved her,” he said.
The old man says that he preferred living with his new wife rather than with his children from his first wife. “She began brainwashing me and telling me that my children from my first wife were mentally torturing her and convinced me to transfer my properties to her name to ensure she is not left destitute after my death,” he said.
The old man was swayed by his young manipulating wife and signed his wealth over to her. “After I had signed everything over to her she revealed her true colors and kicked me out. She threw kitchen appliances at me, beat me up and threw me onto the street. I’m an old man, what could I do — she was far too quick and fast for me,” said the old man.
Finally, exasperated, the old man took the lone course available to him but to go to the NSHR and file a complaint against his wife.
Some Saudi men who have filed cases against their wives at the NSHR say they have been mistreated because of their medical conditions. One diabetic old man was thrown out of his home by his wife and children who then told him to go and live in a care-home. “I suffer from diabetes and being old I am a little senile. My wife and children threw me out of our family home and told me to go to a care home in Makkah or Taif and to make sure I don’t live in Jeddah,” said the man.
Another man, who had filed a case at the NSHR, tells officials that he thinks his wife is a man and not a woman. “She punches really hard and never listens to what I have to say. She wants to wear the trousers in the house and take on the role of a man,” said the man.
He said that recently she even threatened to stab him to death if he did not leave the house. “She said she didn’t want me in her life anymore. So I left and came to the NSHR, now she rings me on my cell phone threatening to hunt me down and kill me. I feel so scared,” he said.
Other cases that come to the NSHR involve divorcees who are denied access to their children. One father said that his divorced wife would not allow him to see his daughter. “The court ruled that my daughter stays with her mother and said that I am allowed to see her regularly. But she doesn’t let me see her,” he said.
The man said that the only way he could see his daughter was by picking her up from school. “When she found out that I was picking her up from school she filed a police complaint that I had kidnapped her. The police came and took my daughter and told me that they would make my ex-wife promise that she will let me see her on a particular day of the week,” he said.
When the man went on the specific day, he says he was shocked to see his ex-wife’s home empty and so went to the NSHR to file a complaint.
