Shock and anger at the beating of TV presenter Rania Al-Baz by her husband run deep among women here. The story put a face to an issue that had been largely relegated to brief sensational items on the crime pages, with graphic images of Raniaâs bruised and broken face appearing prominently in several local newspapers. âIt is a very common problem, unfortunately, not just here,â said Dima Al-Sulaiman, director of the volunteer committee at the National Home Health Care Foundation. She believes social values are to blame. âAbuse starts from childhood â in how parents direct their sons and daughtersâ behavior,â she said. Other women also blame the family and society in general for making violent behavior acceptable. âSaudi men think that this is the way to solve problems. They donât know how to discuss things quietly,â said Dina Arif, a businesswoman. She says too often a woman who is beaten complains to her father, who instead of taking positive steps to protect his daughter convinces her to go back to her husband and try to work things out...
What the...? The Koran imposes on Muslim men, a strict obligation of spousal battery. It is this simple: if they donât use their wives for punching bags, they go to hell.
Koran 4:34
"...As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and mis-conduct, admonish them, expel them from the marital bed, and beat them..." "Fear"? Could be deemed subjective and male-centrist. Then again, Muslims believe that the Koran is the words of their nominal deity, as recited by the nominal Angel Gabriel to Mohammed (Political Correctness be Upon Him). |