The story of the ‘Al-Khamis Girl’ has riveted—and riven—Saudi society for the past three years. In brief, the woman killed a man with whom she had been having an illicit sexual relationship. When she wanted to end it, the man refused and, it is claimed, threatened to blackmail her and attempted to rape her. She has admitted to killing him, dismembering him, and burning the parts. She was tried and convicted and sentenced to death.
Under Saudi law, the family of a murder victim has the right to either let the execution proceed or to offer a pardon (often upon the payment of a negotiated sum of ‘blood money’). Until now, the family was insisting on execution.
The story, though, rang a cord in Saudi society which saw that while the woman was indeed guilty, there was something more going on. The man was not entirely blameless in the affair, even if he had not threatened blackmail or rape. Newspaper stories and op-eds, radio and TV programs all carried discussion of whether or not capital punishment was truly deserved in this case. Now, according to this Arab News article, after the Crown Prince weighed in on the matter, the family has finally relented in their demand.
This story doesn’t make a lot of sense when seen from a Western perspective of law and human rights. But that perspective is not pertinent in this case: it’s Saudi law and society’s view that matters. In this case, an ambiguous situation has been resolved without resorting to capital punishment. It may have moved the issue of women’s rights just a bit in the right direction.
Khamis Girl Pardoned, to Be Freed Next Week
Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 13 April 2007 — A 32-year-old woman known as the “Khamis girl,†who spent eight years in prison for murdering her ex-lover, has been pardoned by the victim’s family.
A relative of the woman, who asked not to be identified due to tribal sensitivities, told Arab News that the woman would soon be released. He said that the murdered man’s family had traveled from Khamis Mushait to Riyadh and relinquished their right to have the woman executed after Crown Prince Sultan convinced them to do so.
The news was confirmed yesterday following a tribal meeting between the two families. “We know the case had been solved verbally in Riyadh but yesterday was the ritual tribal announcement of the news,†said the source. Sheikh Hasan ibn Mushait, a tribal leader of the influential Shahran tribe, led the meeting….
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
April:14:2007 - 02:42
I could think of several cases in which a deserved pardon , or rather lack of prosecution in the first place, would be more applicable to associate the cause of furthering women’s rights in the Kingdom. I hope there won’t be much association between this case and women’s rights. Rather, I’d hope for more positive resolutions to cases such as Fatima’s or the gang-raped girl.
Of course, beggars can’t be choosers and we (Saudi women)should take what we can get when a bone is tossed in our direction, for the time being.
April:14:2007 - 06:56
I agree with you. I was citing this case more as an example of how the Saudi legal system works rather than making any point about women’s rights. This is far from the best case to advance women’s rights, as you note. There are far better ones.