The war in Yemen has increased the vulnerability of women and children gloomily; according to the International Rescue Committee, Sexual Gender Based Violence and Violence against Girls and Women has increased by 65% since before the conflict of 2015.
Asila, 8, and Sarah, 10, the two sisters, are among those who have faced the wrath of domestic violence from their fathers.
Following the divorce of their parents, the custody of Asila and Sarah would be granted to their father, who would quickly remarry. According to Yemen law, the custody of children is mostly granted to the father after a separation or divorce case.
On a seemingly normal day in August of 2018, Asila would leave her house to play on the street with other children. Subsequently, her father would pick up a whip used for donkeys and beat her to the pulp in the middle of the street.
After losing consciousness the neighbours would plead with him to take Asila to get medical attention, which he would refuse to do. She was later taken to a nearby health facility in the village as the nearest hospital would be too far. Upon arrival, a lawyer who happened to be present at the facilities describes Asilas condition by saying “I thought she fell off the mountain as her injuries were extremely brutal, I was shocked when they told me her own father beat her to death.” He then proceeded to take a video of Asila after which she passes away in five minutes, bidding farewell to her short, yet harsh life.
The matter was reported to the local police force who would visit the family home to investigate the crime and would be greeted by Asila’s sibling Sarah, who had severely burnt eyes and bruises across her body. Upon investigation, it was revealed that Sarah was burnt by her father because she wore eyeliner which he found very offensive.
The case has been hung in the courts of Sana’a since August if 2018, the Yemeni penal law states that a father cannot be punished for killing his own child. In accordance with that, inside sources state that the justice system has ruled out the case as a minor offence which means the killer will not be punished for his heinous crimes but will only get a few months in jail to satisfy the public opinion.
