Tamadir Al-Ruhailee Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Ministry of Social Affairs said 19 young women have been involved in murder cases so far this year. As part of an investigation into women murderers and their motives, Okaz/Saudi Gazette interviewed senior police officers who said women are sometimes just as capable as men of committing violent crimes. One officer described an incident involving the female owner of women's salon who suffered severe burns when another woman threw acid on her body. The salon's owner met her attacker at her salon a few years ago and maintained a good relationship throughout until the unexpected happened. The woman called the salon owner and asked her for a loan. The victim said she did not have the money, but the attacker thought she did not want to lend her any money and got infuriated. One day, the woman showed up at the house of the salon's owner at 8 a.m. while the victim was sleeping. When the housemaid opened the door for the woman, she went straight in searching for the salon owner until she found her in her bedroom. The first thing she did was jump on her while the victim was still asleep. She started kicking and hitting her all over her body. The woman then threw acid all over the salon owner's body and continued hitting her. The victim made for the bathroom to wash her body with water but the woman followed her and continued punching her. She even tried to strangle her with a piece of cloth. Another crime took place a while ago when an Asian housemaid killed her newborn baby and hid the corpse in her sponsor's warehouse. She had the baby out of wedlock following an affair with a driver in the same household she was working for. Police files also revealed another case where a 30-year-old lady stabbed her sister several times over a family argument. Legal consultant Khalid Halawani said, "Women get involved in criminal activities for financial and emotional motives. Women fall in love fast but they also hate someone fast and tend to get revenge.” He gave an example of a girl who killed her father because he did not let her marry the young man she loved. He noted that if a woman has been found guilty of a murder she committed, she would be executed. He cited the example of a 27-year-old girl who was married off to a 70-year-old man against her will while she was in love with another man. When she could not take it any more, she strangled the old man to death and was arrested and executed, Halawani said. Halawani called on concerned authorities like the ministries of social affairs, interior and labor to study the problem and set up a hot line for women who are feeling pressure or who are being mistreated by their families. These women can use the hotline to talk to counselors at the Ministry of Social Affairs to get proper protection, he said. He said concerned authorities should ensure that women are getting their lawful rights and they know where to go if they feel they are the victims of any type of injustice. A Jeddah police spokesman said he only encountered a few Saudi women who were involved in murder cases. He noted that there are several cases involving housemaids who turned into murderers due to psychological problems or behavior or are motivated by revenge. Dr. Abla Hasanain, criminal sociology specialist, said global statistics have shown that men are more prone than women to engage in criminal activities and commit murders. According to criminal sociology, women get involved in certain criminal activities that affect their social duties and rights such as killing a baby born out of wedlock or certain types of thefts. However, she pointed out that economic, social and cultural factors have contributed to an increase in the number of women involved in criminal cases. One of the problems freed female prisoners face is the refusal of their families to come to the prison and pick them up. This results in them staying in prison until a relative comes and signs for their release. This problem has been of great concern for social and human rights experts because many female prisoners get released but they cannot leave and end up in prison again because their families do not want them. A researcher conducted a study on this problem last year and found that 36 percent of freed female prisoners engage in criminal activities again because their families do not accept them after their release.
