ABHA — The self-immolation of a young woman in Mahayil Asir recently prompted calls for better protection for women suffering domestic violence and greater efforts to enforce women's rights. The charred remains of Hanan Al-Shehri was found in the kitchen of her house last month. She reportedly drank benzene and set herself on fire because she could no longer stand the mental and physical torture by her brother and uncle. A number of social activists who spoke to Alsharq daily voiced their opinion that, while protection regulations exist, they are not enforced strongly enough. Fayez Al-Shahrani, the lawyer following Hanan's case, recounted the start of Hanan's troubles with her abusive brother and uncle. When Hanan's father died, her brother became the legal guardian of Hanan, their sisters and their mother. The brother, according to Al-Shahrani, collected his sisters' shares in their late father's pension. He also took all of his father's inheritance. The sisters complained to the Public Pension Agency, which responded by opening a bank account for each of them and transferring the monthly amounts directly to them. The brother then separated his mother (who was divorced prior to the father's death) from his sisters. Hanan decided to demand the women's share of their late father's inheritance. At that time, Al-Shahrani revealed, Hanan's cousin proposed to her, but her brother rejected the suitor. On the day of her death, Hanan had an argument with her brother, and her maternal uncle verbally abused and beat her, he said. Hadi Al-Yami, head of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Asir province, confirmed that Hanan was beaten and verbally abused by her uncle before she took her life. Al-Yami said her brother, who was enraged by her decision to get married without informing him, provoked the uncle to attack her. In a complaint filed with NSHR's Asir branch, Hanan's sister accused her brother and the maternal uncle of torturing the young woman to force her to revoke the engagement. According to a relative who declined to be named, Hanan was studying education in Bisha at the time of her death. Informed sources told Al-Hayat daily that Hanan's brother was released, though it was not mentioned whether he had posted bail or not, but the uncle was still under custody. Al-Sharani said Hanan had made a number of farewell phone calls to her sisters before self-immolating in the family home's backyard, but none of them had taken her words seriously. The ambulance, owing to the remote location of the house, did not arrive at the scene until after four hours, said the lawyer. Al-Shahrani said the brother should never have been made Hanan's guardian. He explained that guardianship should be given only to responsible, sensible individuals. Khalid Al-Fakhri, a legal consultant for the National Society for Human Rights, explained that the protection home is responsible for providing adequate protection for women and children. He explained that the society intervenes in dangerous cases, like battery or death threats. In such a case, the society moves the victim to a safe house. Al-Fakhri suggested the creation of an independent bureau to deal with issues of marriage and divorce to help avoid tragedies like Hanan's. Issa Al-Ghaith, a member of the Shoura Council, opined that government agencies are partially to blame for domestic violence incidents. He argued that, when a case is beneficial for an agency, it fights hard to get it. When a case becomes a burden, however, the agency responsible drops it. Al-Ghaith recommended that domestic violence cases be referred to the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia). He said some Haia members can be devoted to dealing with domestic violence cases. Turki Al-Resheid, a legal consultant, affirmed that women suffer from a lack of appropriate enforcement of regulations. A regulation that can go a long way to safeguarding women's interests is the requirement of the fingerprint identification system in courts and for national ID cards. Women are required to present witnesses to verify their identity. If a woman has no verifiers, her case could become stuck in limbo for years. Ziad Al-Ruqaiti, spokesman for the Eastern Province, explained that police stations receive reports of assault, including domestic violence. He explained that the police address domestic violence cases with the help of one of the abused woman's relatives. If none are available, the police seek the help of the district mayor (umdah) or Haia members. He added that cases reported to hospitals are addressed by the hospital itself. The accused are later referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution. He said law enforcement officials regularly inform social workers of domestic violence cases. Social workers seek to heal divides in families, whenever possible.
