Pregnant woman dies days after suspected beating by husband
Man denies attacking wife, who was hospitalized Friday with severe head wounds; Rahat couple had 3 children under age of 9; woman told family husband didn’t treat her respectfully
A 29-year-old pregnant woman died overnight, it was announced Sunday morning, days after she was allegedly beaten by her husband in the southern town of Rahat.
The woman, named by Channel 13 news as Roan Al-Katani, was hospitalized on Friday at the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba with severe head injuries.
Her husband, 32, was arrested and remanded. He denies attacking his wife.
According to the Haaretz daily, the couple had three children aged 5 to 9.
Police said an initial report came at 1:30 a.m. on Friday morning in the Bedouin town.
According to Haaretz, the husband then called the victim’s mother at 3:30 a.m. and said his wife had “fallen in the shower and was bleeding from her head.”
The victim’s father said the mother responded: “You killed my daughter.”
The father said that the couple had problems in their relationship, but according to the husband he did not beat his wife and she did not want a divorce.
“She would come to us and say, ‘Dad, he doesn’t treat me respectfully,'” the father told Haaretz. “I told her she has children and she should try to take care of the house, and that it would all work out.”
Eleven Israeli women have been killed this year allegedly by somebody known to them.
Thirteen Israeli women were murdered in 2019 by someone known to them. In 2018, 25 women were murdered in such incidents, the highest number in years, prompting a string of protests and urgent calls for authorities to take action against the increasing incidence of violence against women in Israel. Many of those women filed police complaints prior to their deaths out of concern for their safety.
Police and social service organizations have reported a major rise in domestic violence complaints since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
Thousands of people protested in Tel Aviv earlier this month against the trend, calling for government action to end violence against women.
Demonstration organizers said most of the NIS 250 million ($71 million) approved in 2017 for national programs to prevent domestic violence have not yet been allocated.
Also this month, the Welfare and Social Services Ministry published figures that showed a 112 percent increase in the number of complaints about domestic violence received by its hotline in May compared to April.
The Times of Israel Community.