Early on Tuesday, Bahrain's Third Lower Criminal Court sentenced a Bahraini man, who brutally assaulted his Syrian ex-wife, to one year in jail, News of Bahrain reported.
The man had attacked his former wife last month, resulting in horrific injuries that needed hospital treatment.
The case sparked outrage in the country, after the 32-year-old victim, Zahra Subhi, shared a now-viral video on social media, pleading with authorities to help her and her children.
The perpetrator was arrested by local police shortly after the video went viral, and was immediately referred to public prosecution.
The brutal attack on Subhi left her with a concussion, severe haemorrhages, bruises and inflammations in her face and other parts of her body.
No information was revealed by the judiciary on the attacker’s motive.
However, in her video testimony, Subhi said her husband frequently assaulted her during their ten years of marriage.
Domestic abuse on the rise across the Arab world
"...too many men in the region continue to uphold norms that perpetuate violence against women..."
In recent years, domestic abuse cases similar to Subhi's have been on the rise in countries across the Arab world.
A recent study titled 'The International Men and Gender Equality Survey - Middle East and North Africa' (IMAGES MENA) revealed that men in four Arab countries including Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and the Palestinian territories committed acts of domestic violence and sexual harassment against women.
According to the report, "too many men in the region continue to uphold norms that perpetuate violence against women or confine women to conventional roles, and they act on these attitudes in ways that cause harm to women, children, and themselves."
Around 10 to 45 percent of ever-married men (men who are married or who have been married) reported physical violence against a female partner, and between 20 to 80 percent of men admitted to emotional violence against their wives.
Circumstances that often lead to domestic violence against women aren't confined to these four countries, but also apply to so many others including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.
