The murder earlier this year of three-year-old Ahmad by his stepmother revived painful memories of Ghosoon, the six-year-old girl who in 2008 was also brutally murdered by her stepmother in Makkah. The torture and murder of young children is a clear warning to society. Saudi laws prohibit the physical, psychological and sexual abuse of children, Ahmad Al-Abdul Aziz Al-Sabegh, supervisor of the family-protection project run by the Social Development Committee in Onaizah, said. The nation's child-protection laws should be revised to give children more protection, he added. Ahmad is the fifth murder case in recent years, along with the 2006 case of six-year-old Rahaf, who did not die, but was brutally tortured by her stepmother. A school principal discovered torture marks on the young girl's body and reported the matter to the police. The case was investigated and the girl's life was saved, Arabic daily Al-Madina reported. Sadly, other children were not as fortunate. Saudi society was shocked in 2008 by the murder of Ghosson, and then by the murder of Ahmad this year. The common factor in those murders was that the victims were children of divorced parents and the stepmothers were the murderers. Dr. Manal Al-Somali, a Sociology specialist at King Fahd Hospital, said, “Ahmad's story has shocked all of us. Who would have thought that a Muslim woman could commit such a heinous crime against an innocent child in a Muslim society simply because she was motivated by jealousy?” Dr. Al-Somali added that the Ministry of Social Affairs should establish statistics about the number of divorces and obligate divorced parents to visit their children. Courts should also expedite divorce and custody cases and reduce red-tape, she added. Dr. So'ad Afif, Associate Professor in the Sociology Department of King Abdul Aziz University, said there are several concerns about the children of divorced parents and that with the increase of the divorce rate there are more and more of these children every year. “We should reconsider children's rights in our society,” she said. “Violence results in psychological problems. If custody is given to the father, children tend to be treated violently. If it is given to the mother, financial expenses become a burden and the mother ends up relinquishing her custody rights to the father,” she said. “Courts should appoint sociology specialists to protect children and they should dedicate more time to follow up each case separately,” she added. Dr. Areej Balilah, a child specialist, said the Kingdom established the Saudi National Commission for Childhood (SNCC) to coordinate efforts for children's rights and to develop projects and programs to raise public awareness about the importance of childhood. “The Kingdom joined the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995 and the Arab Council for Childhood and Development,” Dr. Balilah said. “It also established a national information center for childhood and devised a program to update its information. In 2004, it launched a ten-year plan for childhood in the Kingdom. The SNCC cooperates with regional and international organizations such as the United Nations and UNICEF,” she said. In its 2004 booklet, the SNCC divided children's rights into six sections: general principles of children's rights; civil rights and freedom for children; general health, social care for children; education, training and leisure time; cultural activities for children; and special measures to protect children against abuse, Dr. Balilah said. Dr. Ayedh Al-Radadi, a former Shoura Council member, said that it is hard for him to believe that any woman would kill an innocent child in cold blood. – SGInfamous cases of child violence l In 2006, Rahaf was subjected to physical abuse at the hands of her stepmother in Taif. The school principal discovered marks on the six-year-old girl's body and sent a report to the police. Rahaf was examined at a hospital, which sent a report to the General Department of Social Protection of the Ministry of Social Affairs to explain the child's condition and demand that it intervene to protect the child. The stepmother was charged and convicted. l In 2007, Balquees, aged seven, was admitted to the intensive care unit in Arar due to skull fractures caused by her stepmother. The stepmother was charged and convicted. l Areej, six, was murdered in 2008 by her stepmother, who beat her to death in Jeddah. Her father and stepmother were arrested and confessed to committing acts of torture that included burning sensitive parts of the girl's body until she died. l In the same year, six-year-old Ghosoon was killed in Makkah by her stepmother and her father in one of the most brutal cases of child abuse to be reported in the Kingdom. A forensic report showed that the girl was tied up in chains and beaten. Investigations revealed that her stepmother and father were involved in the murder. They were convicted and beheaded in a case that attracted much attention. l In 2011, three-year-old Ahmad, was murdered by his stepmother who dumped his body in an abandoned building near his house and reported to authorities that he was missing. __
