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Poll: Middle East: 42% of women condone domestic violence
This is shocking if trueA path breaking study in the Gulf Emirate of Qatar has found that as many as 42% of young Qatari women condone the use of domestic violence and abuse against them. The study, which has shocked researchers, was conducted by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Qatar and revealed that 41.97% of the women believed they deserve the physical abuse of their male relatives. "Many of these girls have suffered rape and sexual harassment, including beating and physical assault," said Kulthum Al Ghanem, Professor of Social Sciences at Qatar University and author of the study. Husbands topped the list of abusers, followed by brothers and fathers. Beating and assault was the most prevalent form of domestic violence (accounting for 65%), but the study revealed other forms of abuse including deprivation of basic rights, rape, forced pregnancy, divorce threats and suppression of freedom of expression and name calling. The study also found that 44.6% of the surveyed women have been subject to violence since childhood and 33.6% since adolescence. Some 47% of the surveyed women said they suffered various disorders including depression since the abuse. The study's findings, which are the first of their kind in the Emirate, were posted Tuesday on the English Arabic news channel website Al Arabiya to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, marked annually on November 25 since 1981. The study has stimulated debate in the Council which is headed by the wife of Qatar's Emir, Sheikha Mozah Al-Missned. "Violence against women is often blamed on mothers who teach their sons that women should be beaten and made to submit," Lina al Dafa, a Qatari social worker who is planning to run for parliament commented. "The most shocking result of the study is that violence takes place in the domestic sphere and in the majority of cases goes unpunished," Ghanem said. The results demonstrate an urgent need to raise awareness among women and educate them about their rights. Efforts should also be made to build women's self confidence and change prevailing attitudes about their place in society, she said. Al Arabiya noted that Qatar has not ratified the 1979 U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on the pretext that some gender-related clauses do not conform to Islamic principles. Posted by: Delphi 2007-11-28 |
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