Young women and girls running away from home is a serious, recent social problem caused by a lack of dialogue and understanding between children and parents in some families, by families which have broken up due to divorce, and by a lack of parental supervision. This social phenomenon has reached such a stage that it is now possible to hear of young women running away from their families and ending up seeking refuge in a women's social care centers. It might be a case of a broken home where the father has divorced his wife and taken his daughter to live with him. As her father fails to supervise her, the young woman is free to make female friends and spend time at their homes. In this way, she falls into bad habits, including possibly the use of drugs and finally ends up in a social care center.It may be at this point that the young woman realizes that if she had had a stable family life and someone who looked after her and cared about her, she would never have ended up in such a messy situation. A bossy brother Fatima's case was slightly different in that her bossy brother was the cause of her running away from home. The brother used to order Fatima and her sister around without their father ever objecting. Finally, they could stand it no longer, and Fatima and her sister decided to run away. Once out of home, they realized that they were lost and stopped a security patrol, explained their problem and requested help. The security patrol took them to a women's social care center. “But,” Fatima said, “I could not rest at ease. I was afraid that once my brother discovered that we had left home, he would not believe that we acted independently. He would suspect that we had done something shameful. I tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of the medicine that I was using. I would rather die than be forced to face my brother who was always suspicious about my actions.” She ran away with her lover Laila, barely 19 years old, became acquainted with a young man and fell in love with him. She ended up in a women's social welfare center after being arrested by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice when she was found in the young man's apartment. Her family reported her sudden disappearance from home to the police. Perhaps because of her young age, she had a romantic picture of the young man she loved and believed that he would defend and protect her more than her family. She was, however, shocked when she was forced to face reality. Four female friends Najwa and her three female friends studying in a university said they planned to run away from their families after graduation. As to why they planned to do this, they said that in their families, a boy was considered more important, and more trustworthy, than a girl. They said: “We believe that a girl will become a mother one day. Therefore, she must have self-confidence so that she will be able to establish a family; she should not have a weak personality. Hence, we decided to inform our families that we would travel abroad on a scholarship. After that, we will not return. We would like to rely on ourselves.” It is noteworthy that Najwa and her female friends do not come from broken homes or poor circumstances, but from well-to-do families. Escape from school An intermediate school girl used to be dropped by the family driver at school every morning, but she would not enter the school. Instead she would leave with a young man with whom she had become acquainted. This continued for more than ten days, until, finally, the school administration informed the family that their daughter was absent from classes. When she was confronted by her family, she denied being absent from school and said that there must be some confusion due to similar names. The family, preferring to believe their daughter, rejected the school's allegations. Family violence Dr. Khalid Bin Saud Al-Halibi, member of the teaching staff at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University and Director of the Family Development Center in Al-Ahsa, attributed the phenomenon of young women and girls running away from their families to the violence they are being subjected to at home and to restrictions that deprive them of their freedom. He stressed that this is not a local but a worldwide phenomenon. He said that in the Kingdom, for example, the women's social welfare center in Jeddah, since its establishment 11 months ago, has received over 100 cases of family violence while Riyadh hospitals alone receive 11 to 16 suicide attempt cases by young women and girls every month. These are considered to be the result of family violence or are attempts to attract attention. Solutions and suggestions According to Dr. Fawzia Al-Khelaiwi, member of the Saudi Society for the Sunnah, there are solutions to the social problem of young women and girls running away from home. The role of the mother is of greatest importance. She must have a close relationship with her daughter based on kindness. The mother should be firm when necessary and kind at other times. She should watch her daughter closely, but indirectly. Dr. Al-Khelaiwi pointed out that it is mostly working women who are negligent, as they are away from their daughters for long periods of time. The psychological and hormonal structure of the girl must also be taken into consideration, especially during examination periods. The family must be enlightened on the proper methods of upbringing and education. The role of the social worker in school must also be activated, and the role of the media in combating drugs and nuisance telephone calls must be enhanced.
