Iraqis call for justice as man tortures, sets wife ablaze

A 20 year old Malak Haider Al-Zubaidi, wife to Muhammad Al- Mayahli has been allegedly abused and burnt by her husband and his family.

This gruesome act was contained in a video posted social media.

The video, which showed Malak covered in bandages with her face swollen from burns, has triggered reactions Iragis, with calls for justice for the dastardly act.

“Al-Zubaidi was allegedly abused and later set on fire by her husband, Mohammed Al-Mayahli.” said a police officer in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

The abused woman also took to the social media to express her pain. She kept on screaming in visible pain, “They never loved me and treated me like a slave,” she said in apparent reference to her husband’s family.

After the incident, however, Al-Mayahli wrote on Facebook that Al-Zubaidi has a mental illness and set herself fire.

“She burned herself with petrol and accused me and my family. There are sponsored accounts that are posting these lies just to slander my family,” Al-Mayahli wrote on Facebook.

On Sunday, Najaf’s Governor, Louay Al-Yasiri, ordered an investigation into the incident.

The governor’s media office said Al-Yasiri had called for a specialised investigation team regarding the burning of a Najaf woman.

Activists have reacted angrily to the incident, calling for justice for Malak, and new laws to protect women from domestic violence.

One user wrote on Twitter: “I saw a video of her in the hospital and I can’t get her screams out of my head. Justice for Malak.”

Another posted a drawing and wrote, “It is a crime against humanity. Where is the role of the authorities? A law should be enacted to criminalize such behaviour.”

Iraq does not have laws specifically to protect women from domestic abuse. Instead, the country’s constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the family but allows husbands to discipline their wives.

Iraqi lawyer, Mohammed Jumaa, said on Twitter that he had seen hundreds of similar cases, where the lives of abused women, such as Al-Zubaidi, were lost and those responsible were not brought to justice.

“If it wasn’t for social media in these cases, then the governor would not have said anything. In our country, you have no rights if social media do not sympathise with you.”