She was well known in Mgarr as the victim of constant, regular violence
The Times reports today:
Meanwhile, police forensic experts on Thursday evening returned to the house in Mgarr where a Moroccan mother-of-two died from a head wound two days ago. They still have to establish whether the woman injured herself in an accidental fall, or whether she was murdered.
The police should take the trouble of informing the press that this woman was well known to them, as she was to her Mgarr neighbours and the few friends who served as a support network, as the repeated and constant target of her husband’s violent abuse.
Perhaps they don’t wish to make this fact known, just in case we ask them the obvious question as to why nothing was done to help her before she ended up dead, given that she was from another country and had almost nobody to turn to here in Malta.
What a week for misogynistic Malta, eh?
One woman shot by her policeman husband – who drove his police car to her place of work to do it.
One woman stabbed by a man who played some as yet unclear role in her life, on a public road.
One woman, known to be the victim of her husband’s cruelty and savage abuse, found dead in a pool of blood.
One woman jailed for refusing to allow her estranged husband to see their son – when the son was 16 and at sixth form college and not in a position to be forced to see his father or prevented from seeing him.
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You forgot Josie Muscat’s comment in the press that some men are provoked into this.
The world will soon have to create a new award for the most progressive and liberal country just for us.
Josie Muscat’s comment should get the Donkey Award. For such an intelligent scholar he should have known that sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are stupid than to open your mouth and prove it.
Learn how to pick your battles, Josie Muscat.
Who said that Josie was/is a spokesman for progressive and/or liberal ideas (unless there was/is a lira to be gained from them)?
Have we already forgotten his stance as AN leader (Alleanza Nazzjonali) in the last election on e.g. immigration?
Wasn’t it Fenech Adami himself who realised Josie was a liability to the PN’s vision and policies during the turbulent years of the Mintoff 1981 (mis)government. In spite of his strong electoral showings in traditionally Labour strongholds, Josie was sidelined by the Party until he decided to give up his candidacy with the PN.
Incidentally, there’s more than a couple of similarities between him and Franco. Both were the youngest MPs when first elected, had a strong following before turning ‘rebel’ and both thought they were the stuff of which statesmen are made! But Josie’s blunders pale into insignificance compared to Franco’s stupid and irresponsible shenanigans.
You forgot to mention the cleaner who was unfairly dismissed from a nunnery.
[Daphne – What in God’s name does that have to do with any of the above?]
You also forgot to mention its time for tiffin.
Because even life in a nunnery feels the pinch under Gonzi.
Ohhh tenuous logic, my favourite kind.
As part of the broader range of behaviours to include as ‘unfair treatment of women’.
Not as grievous as murder or physical violence but remains a form of psychological/material abuse.
Most men think that they are above the law,can do what ever they like,treat their wives like shit,have other women as ‘friends’,and then go home and expect to find their wives waiting to serve them.That time is over now,women must become assertive and show their men that they are on the same level in the playing field and that they are nobody’s servant.Bad behaviour is not to be tolerated.Women do not provoke men.It is very important nowadays that the woman is financially independent of her husband.
[Daphne – Aren’t you the lady who generally writes in to tell us that it is perfectly normal and acceptable for women to fuss over their sons at home until well into adulthood, and to be jealous of any woman they bring home to ‘replace’ them with? Well, some of what you describe is the consequence of that.]
Just wanted to drop in here to say that those who genuinely (?!) think this to be a “Hate” blog should stop and think. I believe it is amply clear that this blogger’s ‘controversial’ political positions, supported by sharp analysis and clear logic are EQUALLY VALID as her pieces such as this and many others on a wide range of social matters.
Subjects that come to mind from the last few months of following this blog are: immigration and our reactions/behaviour to it, our attitudes towards women, multiculturalism, news about the effects of the financial/economic crisis, gay and other rights, marriage, divorce and family issues, etc.
Those who react quickly to attack ‘a different view’ would surely benefit from doing some research on the subject matter before passing negative judgement.
What else can I say…? Thanks Daphne, WELL DONE and keep up the good work! We/Malta need/s IT to get out of our parochial and insular attitudes and behaviour.
Spare a thought for the men of Malta. Clearly they have to endure very high levels of provocation.
You forgot to mention that Labour has a road map.
Don’t worry. Our hero, Joseph Muscat, and his most feminist government in history will be saving the country soon.
If a man beats up another man, he is accused of grevious bodily harm and punished accordingly – even if it is just a suspended sentence.
If a man beats up a woman – his wife or girlfriend, that’s a different kettle of fish.
Most of the time she forgives him and the case stops there.
If she decides to go on with the case, the man is let off with just a slap on the wrist.
The woman is left alone to face the consequences. One of these consequences is death.
Then all we can say is “miskina, jahasra”.
Dr. Josie Muscat has a lot to answer for when he made that comment. He unleashed a beast that was holding on to the leash with just a flimsy thread.
Question is though, were the husbands provoked?
Apart from the fact that The Times should not give coverage to such incidents, less still include video footage, surely the sad case should not be considered an “adventure”? (“Two fire engines and an ambulance were on stand-by throughout the adventure.”)
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120928/local/stabbing-suspect-threatening-to-jump.438778
Avventura Għall-Irġiel ma’ Silvio Parnis. Prezz: €15 (jinkludi żewġ pastizzi u tè, bibita kiesħa u trasport għal kullimkien).
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120928/local/boy-drops-slashing-complaint-against-his-father.438753
When women do something it’s always worse
L-aqwa li Dr Josie infurmana li dawn il-qabdaa nisa l-ewwel jipprovokaw il-vjolenza domestika imbaghad joqodu jibku.
And what about the father using a knife on his 16 year old son?
Well the media isn’t helping either.
This article in The Times managed to paint the stabbing victim as a criminal and the man who stabbed her as a “miskin” who was so much in love with her:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120929/local/Qormi-drama-as-stabbing-suspect-threatens-suicide.438816
As for Josie, well it still baffles me why some people think that it is a normal reaction to resort to violence instead of simply walking out & (figuratively) sending their partner to hell.
I suppose it goes hand in hand with the “till death do us apart” tenet.
Some men in Malta still think of women as possessions and objects not to mention they treat women as second class citizens.
A lot of men in Malta still live in a Third World country mentality where women have very few rights and they should be seen but not heard. Unfortunately sometimes the authorities encourage such abuse.
You forgot the psycho ex-policeWOMAN who used to torture vulnerable girls she was meant to be helping.
Dear Daphne, last Friday in Gozo an English lady (thirty something) committed suicide by hanging herself. Naturally being a suicide case nothing was reported in the media.
Her Gozitan partner is known for his violent character.
It is widely rumoured that this lady has previously tried on several occasions to kill herself. It is also rumoured that she was forced to commit the ultimate act after suffering years of abuse from her partner.
Dear Daphne,Yes I am the lady you mention.I have both boys and girls.Because I pamper my children even in adulthood does not mean that I am telling them to treat their wife/husband like shit.When such horrible things happen love has gone out of the window and most probably there is a third person involved.
Problem is that after the couple splits,the man continues to pest his wife.It is good that now that we have divorce the couple will not remain married,unlike separation where a couple remain married in the eyes of the law.
It’s always the man who keeps causing problems after a breakup, isn’t it?
‘Pampering your children in adulthood’? And then we wonder why many of the boys and girls of today’s society act like princesses and psychologically unbalanced.
Listen up, there is no ‘the woman’ and ‘the man’. I’ve had enough of that absurd ‘sisterhood victimhood’ tripe and of affluent, well off suburbanites cashing in on the indignities that many working-class women suffer and using this for their own agendas.
In response to some other arguments posted, provocation never justifies violent abuse.
If there’s too much provocation in a relationship then it clearly is time to break up and move on if the issue cannot be resolved.
The men who beat their wives are little more than petty degenerates. They are aware of their actions and they will not find any sympathy from me.
Those who look the other way are accomplices.
I’d have been sorely tempted to ‘help’ that attention-seeking wimp in Qormi jump off the roof had I been there. Then again I also find it difficult to feel sorry for the women who run around with these individuals and then cry foul when things start going amiss.
Set your children free, Lola. If they won’t thank you for it one day, you certainly will thank yourself for leaving them alone.
This is the time when I feel ashamed to be living in Malta.
The list of women who died a horrible death at their husband’s or a man’s hands is very long for a small island. I cannot help going through this list in my mind. Last week takes the biscuit. Truly, truly shameful.
Jiena ta’ l-ideja li ma’ l-ewwel episodju l-koppja tinfired m’hemmx lok ghal mahfra.
Din ir-regola jiena tezisti f’mohhi u hija cara fil-familja tieghi.
Nisthajjel digà lil xi hadd jghidli li ma tantx qed nagixxi b’mod Kristjan ghall-fatt li ma nhallix lok ghal mahfra.
Jiena nhoss li ghandi mohh biex nuzah u mohhi jghidli li la persuna waslet li tmissni b’mod vjolenti darba mela allura issa xejn ma jwaqqafha milli terga tirrepeti dan l-agir. Din il-haga tghodd kemm ghan-nisa u kemm ghal-irgiel msawwta.
The dead woman’s name is Meryem Bugeja. I wonder if she is the same person who used to show tv viewers how to cook typical Moroccan dishes a few years ago?