I pondered a great deal over the story of a poor woman who lived in fear for over 14 years. The woman had been blackmailed for the entire period and had been pressured to hand to her blackmailer over SR800,000, which is an enormous amount of money. This was the price she had to pay for her security.
I was happy to learn that the woman was not heavily involved with this man and that her contact with him was only limited to some pictures she had passed to him.
While reading this piece of news, I was left to wonder who was responsible for her life of fear. Was it that she was ignorant when she was young and irresponsible? Was she in this situation on account of her family? Were the social welfare institutions to blame? I simply cannot imagine how a girl could live in such fear for over 14 years. Living in fear for such a long time could kill a person. I advise her family to treat her psychologically to ensure she can live a normal life and not suffer from mental problems in the future.
I wonder why so many boys and girls are living in such situations? Some end up suffering from people who want to extort them financially, while others suffer emotional blackmail. To make things worse, the entire thing could start in such a simple and innocent way, similar to this girl who must now be in her 30s. If so, how could she live in such a condition for more than half her life?
Welfare institutions must be established in large cities to protect people in a similar situation. They are needed to harbor those who have made mistakes at weak moments of their lives, especially girls. The existence of active female sections in these institutions is a must. It is unfair that a girl is left living in fear for 14 years and her society is unwilling to stand by her and help.
It is also unfair to make an announcement about this sad story just to warn girls. Government institutions should develop new ways to protect those in trouble, even if they are part of the trouble. Such organizations should have a system of confidentially receiving calls from people in trouble and promising not to release their details. The police should also be involved to ensure victims stop fearing blackmailers; thus weakening the emotional control that they have over the vulnerable.
I have to say that some of these victims have made mistakes and should therefore bear some of the responsibility. We are a human society and we are exposed to both rights and wrongs. It is very sad that some girls live in such fear in our society. Let's hope we see a speedy solution to this problem in the near future.
