LAHORE // A 32-year-old Pakistani woman is battling for her life after suffering extensive burns in an attack by her three sisters-in-law at their home in the central city of Jhang.
Riffat Nadeem, a mother of two from Rawalpindi, was saved by neighbours. She remains lucid but is struggling to survive at Lahore's Mayo Hospital where, after media intervention, she is being treated free of cost on the orders of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province.
Lying in her bed in the intensive care unit, she braves intense pain and the humiliation of being barely covered in the presence of a male stranger to relate her story, one that is atypical in that it has been politicised by media coverage but commonplace in that she still faces an uphill battle for justice.
It was 4.30pm on Nov 6; Riffat was working in the kitchen with her sisters-in-law. When she turned to go outside to gather some tea leaves, the eldest, Aziz Fatima, threw an unidentified flammable liquid on her from behind, setting her clothes alight.
Instinctively, Riffat ran across the courtyard to get out of the house and find help, pushing aside the youngest sister-in-law, Habib Fatima, who she says tried to block her escape. Still aflame, she ran across the mud street into a neighbour's courtyard, where the lady of the house and a male passer-by smothered her in a palm-leaf mat.
Riffat recalled how her three sisters-in-law ran in, wailing melodramatically at her, trying to paint the attack as a suicide attempt.
"When I saw their act I wanted more even than an end to the burning pain, for God's wrath to descend upon them," she said.
The three women dropped the act as soon as the neighbours called the police and Riffat's family in Rawalpindi. However, joined by relatives from the vicinity, the women blocked the door of the neighbour's house and warned the rescuers not to interfere with "family honour" - a serious threat in a society plagued with 636 so-called honour killings in 2007.
It was then that her husband's nephew, Omar Haider, 18, arrived with a mobile phone with husband Mohammed Nadeem Faiz Siyal on the line from the western Saudi city of Madinah, where he runs a gypsum business with his two brothers.
"He was furious with me for involving strangers and ordered me to return home," Riffat said.
She said the attack was the culmination of a spiral of domestic violence over four years, in which she suffered frequent beatings from her husband's siblings - two of which, in 2004 and 2006, resulted in miscarried pregnancies.
Riffat's story is representative of widespread domestic violence involving husbands and their female relatives. Motives range from petty jealousies to greed; another is the desire to remarry - as is allegedly the case with Riffat's husband.
She was able to escape only under police escort to the Jhang district hospital, where a physician diagnosed her as suffering first, second and third degree burns to 60 per cent of her body; particularly dangerous are burns to the right breast, which partially melted and stuck to her rib cage.
Doctors in Lahore said it would be four to five weeks before they knew if Riffat would survive; on average, three in 10 patients with such extensive burning die.
While Riffat was receiving first aid, her husband called again to speak to his elder child, five-year-old daughter Afshia. "I kept telling Papa, 'Auntie burnt Mama, auntie burnt Mama', but he got very angry and told me to stop talking against auntie," Afshia said in an interview with The National from her grandparents' home in Rawalpindi.
Riffat's attackers were allowed to flee by the police, enabling them to secure pre-arrest bail.
That has earned the local police chief a warning from the governor, but other recent public interventions by top government officials - as in the case of a reported burial alive in July of five women in Balochistan province and the October murder of a pregnant teenager in Sindh - are yet to lead to arrests of politically connected suspects.
Israrullah Zehri, a senator who in August publicly condoned the Balochistan case as a legitimate case of tribal justice, was recently appointed a minister in the federal cabinet.
thussain@thenational.ae
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
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- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
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Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
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- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
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- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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