Kafa demands a special tribunal for cases of domestic violence

Under the slogan, “patience has limits”, Kafa organised last Saturday a demonstration which took off from the National Museum towards the Ministry of Justice to demand an urgent indictment of men accused of killing their wives. Protestors included hundreds of activists together with the families and friends of victims, calling for severe punishments against perpetrators. Organizers chanted against traditional sayings which perpetrate violence against women like: ‘don’t ruin your household’, ‘he will change’, "women tolerate more than men’, ‘a wife leaves her home to her tomb’, ‘may be if you bring him a boy, he will change’, ‘she certainly has done something justifies beating her’, ‘never ask for divorce’. They also carried signs condemning domestic violence and patriarchal mentalities and attitudes

In this respect, Kafa director Zoya Ruhana called for the establishment of a special tribunal to look into cases of domestic violence, pointing to 16 cases of murder during the period from May 2013 to May 2015, and no court rulings yet. “Some defendants are still at large,” she added, while calling for sever punishment of culprits without any mercy whatsoever. Ruhana went on to say: “Yes, last year a law was passed for the protection of women and their family members from domestic violence, however, it was full of flaws as you well know.” She concluded that the passing of the said law was not sufficient.

(Source: Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Akhbar, May 31, 2015)