Saudi husband arrested for beating his pregnant wife with walking stick

An abusive Saudi husband who beat his pregnant wife with a walking stick was arrested by authorities in the kingdom's Assir governorate earlier this week, Al Hayat newspaper reported. 

The husband, who works as a teacher, had previously abused his wife on numerous occasions; throwing sharp knives at her, beating her with metal bars, and even breaking her nose. 

However, she always refrained from filing a complaint against him. 

Speaking to Al Hayat, the woman's father said the family finally decided to take legal action against the abusive man because his actions were no longer tolerable. 

"He abused my daughter numerous times. Last Ramadan, he threw a sharp knife at her, severely wounding her hand. When we asked him why he did that, he said it was a joke," the victim's father explained. 

The wife, who was hospitalized after the latest incident, also spoke to the newspaper, calling on authorities to grant her custody of the couple's children because she's worried about their safety.

According to legal sources, the man has now been released on bail but will face charges for his actions. 

News of the case started making the rounds online late on Wednesday. 

Since then, hundreds have taken to Twitter, expressing their outrage over the abusive husband's actions. 

"Women must know they shouldn't remain silent in the face of abuse... unfortunately many believe it's their duty not to speak out about it." 

"Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. The majority of women choose to remain silent, because they worry about their children and where they'd live  in case of a divorce." 

In recent years, reported domestic abuse cases have been on the rise in countries across the Arab world. 

It's estimated that thousands of domestic violence cases go unreported because more often than not, abused women are pressured into staying silent or live in societies where gender-based violence has been normalized. 

A recent study 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.