DAMMAM — A victim of domestic abuse died of a heart attack this Sunday. Khadija had recounted to Okaz/Saudi Gazette a month ago the details of the suffering she went through while living with her abusive husband. Khadija became partially paralyzed a month and a half into her marriage as a result of the extreme abuse she had to endure. She had jumped off a third floor window of her house to escape the physical and verbal abuse of her husband. The victim was pursuing a lawsuit against her husband to claim her rights but she passed away before being able to complete the process. The victim had given all the details of her case to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. NSHR Secretary-General and Legal Consultant Khalid Al-Fakhri promised to see her through while the ministry had asked her to come with her guardian. Speaking about the abuse she went through, Khadija had said her husband would not let her get out of the house alone. One day he allowed her to go out to buy clothes for Eid. He then phoned her and told her to buy dinner and return home by a taxi. She said on the third day of Eid her husband broke down their apartment's door and began brutally beating her and showered her with verbal abuse. She could not bear the abuse any longer and jumped out window, critically injuring her. She had undergone six months of treatment as she had partially paralyzed as a result of the fall. She reported the incident to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution. The husband was detained for four days and then released. The husband asked her to return home. She did not want to return home but she had nowhere else to go as her parents were divorced. She used to live with her grandfather but he had passed away, Khadija had told Okaz/Saudi Gazette a month before her death.
