LONG time ago, while we were sleeping late at night, frantic screams of a girl woke up the neighborhood. The girl was apparently shouting for help. Neighbors rushed to the apartment and found out that the girl's father was beating his defenseless daughter. The front door was firmly closed and attempts to unlock it failed. The door was finally broken and eyewitnesses say the girl was in a pool of blood. “Disobedience” and “negligence” were the father's justifications for beating his teenaged daughter. A flawed argument. The story didn't end there. The girl was forcefully married to a man she did not approve. She was silenced when she expressed her strong opposition to the marriage. A few years and three children later, her marriage collapsed. I thought such violence against young women and children was now history. It turns out that I'm greatly mistaken as such incidents are in fact on the rise. Last Monday, Al-Watan reported a gruesome murder of a five-year-old girl by her father. The girl, Bayan, was hit severely by a heavy stick on her legs because she was tough-headed and did not obey her father's orders. Her parents had separated and her father was married to another woman. Reports said the father was a drug addict with mental impairment. Giving custody of a young girl to such a mentally impaired father, unfit to take care of his daughter, raises legal questions about why the divorced mother was not given the custodianship instead. In 2004, nine-year-old Ghoson was repeatedly tortured by her father and her step mother. According to eye witnesses, the victim was kicked, hit by a metal chain, fettered outside and deprived of food, drink and sleep. When Ghoson was finally taken to the hospital in a critical condition, she collapsed and her death unveiled stories of barbaric, sadistic and savage torture by her father, who was supposed to protect her. Physical abuse is only one of the many forms of abuses against women and children. A military man did not allow his girls meet their mother, his divorced wife, for nearly four years. A judiciary verdict was issued to allow the desperate mother to meet her children. He refused to comply and was hence arrested on those charges. Child marriage is another form of abuse against young, underaged girls. Several newspapers reported that girls as young as 10 have been married to men six times their age. Although there has been a lot of discussion in newspapers and the internet over this issue, little change is expected. A lot of cases go unreported because victims fear that any disclosure would only make matters worse. Some male guardians feel they are free to persecute their children any way they desire. A wrong notion is that beating a child would positively shape his or her behavior. Victims often do not prefer to report abuses fearing the reaction they would face from relatives and the shame that would stigmatize them forever. Further, it is usually believed that reporting to authorities would be of no use. Domestic violence, in my opinion, is not restricted to a society. It exists in all classes and cultures of people around the world. Some essential steps to tackle these issues have been taken at an official level in Saudi Arabia. The law to provide individual IDs for women has been reinforced by the Interior Ministry. There are numerous calls to criminalize all domestic violence. Introducing civil courts – part of the reform package of the Saudi judiciary system – would undoubtedly have a positive impact and could help in curbing cases of violence against women and children. Another important point is that legislations once adopted should be fully enforced otherwise laws will not be taken seriously and people will not feel protected enough. Human rights should be at the heart of any legal, social or educational reform. Without adequate legal protection, women and children will continue to be vulnerable targets of reckless monsters. Last but not the least, educating young girls about their rights to marriage, access to education and the reality or the limits of male custodianship is essential so they could speak out in case of abuse. __
