JEDDAH, 19 September 2006 — Seven-year-old Balkees is brain dead, according to a source at the Arar Central Hospital. The girl was admitted at the hospital on Sept. 11 with a fractured skull after her stepmother allegedly abused her.
Balkees’s mother, Fatima, said that doctors told her the girl has little hope of recovering brain function, and if she did “she would spend the rest of her life suffering as a quadriplegic.”
“She can be only nourished artificially and isn’t responding to sensory stimulation,” said Fatima, who lost a custody battle for her daughter against her husband during divorce proceedings that began when the girl was two months old.
Fatima, who lives with her new husband in the northern frontier city of Sakaka, said her former husband initially refused to divorce her unless she gave up custody rights on the two-month-old Balkees.
That dispute ended up in the courts. “He ruined my reputation in front of the judge and told him that I was not qualified enough to take care of my daughter,” Fatima said.
By law, mothers automatically get custody of daughters until the girls are seven years old, whereupon custody is passed to the father. However fathers can dispute custody before age seven if the mothers re-marry.
According to Fatima, her ex-husband passed care of the girl to his aunt. When the girl was a year old, the aunt took her to Fatima where she stayed for most of the time until her father re-married.
Balkees would then visit with her father and her Iraqi stepmother, who allegedly was the one who sent the girl to hospital with a fractured skull last week.
“The stepmother is known for her bad temper in the family,” Fatima said, referring to her ex-husband’s relatives who she said would avoid visits lest they encountered the woman.
The stepmother, who could face the death penalty if found guilty of killing the girl, was allegedly fired from a beauty salon due to complaints that she performed “witchcraft” on her customers, according to Fatima. “I suspect that she used to do the same with my daughter,” she added.
Suhaila Hammad, head of research department of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), told Arab News that the father was investigated but released.
“He admitted that he was not available to take care of his daughter,” said Fatima.
Balkees is Fatima’s only child.
