Depressed, angry and frustrated from her family problems, a 22-year-old Saudi divorced woman strangled to death her five-month-old daughter Wafa. In a fit of rage, the mother first strangled Wafa with her hands and then used an extension cord to strangle the baby to death. She then covered her body with several blankets, said Lt. Col. Abdullah Bin Sa'eidan Bin Dhafran, spokesman for Asir Police. The mother said her family led her to do this. She said her father frequently beat her and humiliated her after she returned from her ex-husband's house following a divorce. Her stepbrothers and stepmother also allegedly oppressed her and incited her father against her. Fed up with her living conditions, she threatened to kill her daughter, but her family didn't take her threats seriously, until finally she killed her daughter. A woman called the police on hearing a loud scream from the balcony of her neighboring apartment. Police had to break-in the house when they received no response from inside. The mother was inside a locked room, while the rest of the house was empty. The 22-year-old, who first refused to respond, broke into tears and cried bitterly. She revealed that her baby was in one of the rooms and the police found Wafa's dead body beneath several blankets. The paramedics team from Red Crescent tried to resuscitate the infant, but did not succeed as the Wafa was dead and had stopped breathing by then. The mother admitted to her crime and said she was overcome by a moment of weak faith and depression while facing her problems. She said her frustrations turned her into a silent Satan. Her father returned home and fainted on hearing about the incident. Sources said the mother allegedly sought revenge from her ex-husband's wife, who was keen on taking care of Wafa. Ahmed Al-Zaidani, associate professor of Psychology at King Khalid University in Abha, said majority of the youth commit suicide or murder to escape their problems. While all of us face difficulties and problems, why do some resort to suicide or murder, he asked. The reason is such people focus on failure and negative aspects of their lives. They do not look at the positive side and the good possibilities of life. Depression misleads a person into believing that the problems facing cannot be solved. Such a person believes there is no way out and murder or suicide is the only permanent solution for such temporary problems, he said. – Okaz __
