Lebanese Woman Beaten Up by Husband, Denied Hospital Care

A Lebanese woman was brutally beaten up by her husband in al-Ouzai area in southern Beirut, which required transferring her immediately to a hospital for treatment.

"However, the Rafik Hariri University Hospital refused to admit Hoda Ali Tay,” LBCI television said on Saturday evening.

But later, a TV personality at LBCI contacted Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, who ordered admitting Tay immediately and providing her with all necessary medical care.

The journalist also called the Mount Lebanon public prosecutor, who opened an investigation in the incident.

Meanwhile, security forces rushed to the hospital to take the necessary procedures and prosecute and arrest the husband.

Several Lebanese women have recently made headlines for falling victims to domestic violence.

A week earlier, Roqayya Monzer was shot dead by her husband last Thursday, one day before Mother's Day, after she asked him for divorce.

Monzer is a mother of two, and was pregnant with her third child at the time of her death.

On February 17, the KAFA (enough) Violence and Exploitation organization announced the death of poisoning of a woman identified as Christelle Abou Shakra, revealing that her husband is in custody for interrogation.

And two weeks earlier, Manal al-Assi was severely beaten by her husband, which resulted in her death the next day. The husband was eventually arrested by security forces.

Another tragic story preceded the two incidents when Roula Yaacoub, 31, died of domestic abuse on July 9, 2013.

Several media reports said Yaacoub's husband beat her up to death with a club under the eyes of their five daughters.

The joint parliamentary committees approved on July 22, 2013, a draft-law on the protection of women from domestic violence, a major step towards helping women become first-class citizens in Lebanon.

If passed by parliament, the law would come under the penal code -- under which cases are referred to a criminal court -- rather than personal status laws, which are ruled on by religious authorities.

Domestic abuse and harassment continue to be taboo in Lebanon, with very few women filing complaints as police generally turn a blind eye and tell them to deal with their problems at home.

From domestic violence to rape to adultery, the rights of women often fall by the wayside, reducing them to second-class citizens.

The committees' approval of the draft-law was seen as a major step towards the liberation of the Lebanese woman who still lacks a lot of rights, including transferring citizenship to her husband if he is a foreigner or to children born of such a union.