New Delhi: Saudi Arabia seems to beat itself time and again with its horrendous record on abuse of women's right in the country.
The latest in the fray is this video, in which a self-styled Islamic family doctor is seen teaching men in the country, how to ‘properly’ beat their wives.
This video, which has the approval of Kingdom’s government, was aired in early february on national television.
After airing the video in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government released the controversial video in the United States via the Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute, in April 2016.
Women activists group describe the video as nothing less than infuriating.
The video features a doctor named Khaled Al-Saqaby teaching men how to ‘properly’ beat their wives if their [wives] disobey them.
Khaled Al-Saqaby: Assalaam Alaykum. Allah’s blessing upon you. Welcome to our show, which will deal with wife beating. I am aware that this issue is a thorny one, which contains many hazards, but Allah willing, we will cross this bridge safely.
According to Al-Saqaby, husbands should not immediately attack their wives, but should discipline them ‘properly’ first. He then makes it clear that in marriage, there is nothing like equality, and that men should take charged and rule the home.
Here are the steps to punish
"The first step is to remind her of your rights and of her duties according to Allah. Then comes the second step – forsaking her in bed.
The third step, beating, has to correspond with the necessary Islamic conditions” before taking action. The beating should not be performed with a rod, nor should it be a headband, or a sharp object.
Instead, husbands should use a ‘tooth-cleaning twig or with a handkerchief’ to beat their wife. The wife will feel that she was wrong in the way she treated her husband,” says Al-Saqaby.
Ending his controversial teaching, Al-Saqaby says his teaching of how to beat wives is not exhaustive, and that sometimes, men can beat their wives without following his steps when the women go to the extreme by disobeying their husbands.
Saudi has invited ire for international community for its absymal treatment of woman.
Woman in Saudi cannot go anywhere without being accompanied by a male guardian known as a 'mahram' whenever they leave the house.
In one extreme case, a teenager reported that she had been gang-raped, but because she was not with a mahram when it occurred, she was punished by the court. The victim was given more lashes than one of her alleged rapists received, the Washington Post reports.
Women are not allowed to drive car in Saudi Arabia.They cannot wear clothes or make-up that "show off their beauty"
Women are required to limit the amount of time spent with men they are not related to.
Other more unusual restrictions include, changing in a dressing room in a shop, entering a cemetery, reading an uncensored fashion magazine,buying a Barbie.
