London: In a troubling video that was apparently aired on Saudi Arabia’s national television, a family therapist has been taped giving out advice on “wife beating”.
According to news website AWDNews.com, the clip was aired in the country in February. But it has come to light only after it was aired in the US when the Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute, uncovered it in April.
It has been reported that the the Saudi government approved the broadcast of the video in the country. Therapist, Khaled Al-Saqaby, in a video posted on YouTube, says he is “aware that this issue (wife beating) is a thorny one, which contains many hazards.
But Allah willing, we will cross this bridge safely”. While maintaining that “the necessary Islamic conditions for (wife) beating must be met”, Mr Al Saqaby says the aim of beating a wife “is to discipline, not to vent one’s anger”.
The family therapist also adds that the beating should not be performed with a rod, but instead with "something like a tooth-cleaning twig or with a handkerchief.
“Unfortunately, some wives want to live a life of equality with their husband,” he says, stressing that this was the main reasons a man may beat his wife.
