‘Husband killings’ rising in Yemen

SANA’A

Yemeni women walk past the Bab al-Yemen gate of the Sanaa city. REUTERS Photo

Around 50 Yemeni women were arrested for murder in 2012, most of whom are accused of deliberately killing their husbands, the Yemeni Interior Ministry announced this week.

According to a report released by the ministry’s Information Security Center, the women were all between the ages of 25-50 and most had committed the crimes with the help of male relatives, Saudi Arabian news website al-Arabiya reported yesterday.

Inequality, domestic violence and “emotional motives” were just some reasons behind such crimes, said the report, adding that the killings took place in Mahweet, Taiz, Hajjah, Sana’a, Amran and Marib.

Murdered women doubled men

However, the ministry said that the number of women who were victims of attempted murder was nearly double the number of women themselves involved in killings.

Dr. Mujib Abdul Bari, a specialist in psychiatric and neurological disorders, told al-Arabiya that the most notable crime in Yemen had taken place on Aug. 7, 2012 in a village in the province of Marib, when a 40-year-old woman killed her husband and two sons after a family dispute.

According to Bari, the Yemeni government should not only publish the statistics of such crimes but also launch awareness programs that would help women in the country. The programs would help women to know that they are contributing members of society, said Bari.