An Abused Wife: A True Story

About a year ago, a prominent Saudi television presenter made international headlines when she permitted newspapers to print horrific images of injuries she said she had sustained from an alleged beating by her husband, Muhammad Bakar Yunus Al-Fallatta. Rania al-Baz’s bruised and swollen face shocked the global community – and ignited an unprecedented public debate within Saudi Arabia itself over the normally taboo issue of domestic violence. She became the first Saudi woman ever to publicly show her battered face.

According to Rania's mother, Al-Fallatta was angered that his wife answered the telephone and proceeded to beat her. "Rania told me that when he saw her on the telephone he looked angry and was coming to hit her like he had done so many times before," she told Arab News. "She begged him not to hit her. His reply was: ‘Hit you? I'm not going to hit you, I am going to kill you.'

"What I came to understand from Rania and the maid who saw the whole thing, is that Al-Fallatta knocked Rania down to her knees, then sat on her thighs so that her legs were bent behind her. He then began choking her while punching her in the face, nose, eyes and mouth. He grabbed a handful of her hair and started banging her head on the floor. When she got up to run, he grabbed her from behind and began smashing her face on the wall until she lost consciousness," said Rania's mother.

"He left her unconscious for a couple of hours while he showered and changed then bundled her up in a sheet and put her in the family van. When my daughter regained consciousness, she found herself in the van and thought he was taking her to Obhur to bury her. When he heard her moaning and trying to speak, he must have panicked because he pulled into Bugshan Hospital," added Rania's mother. According to security at Bugshan Hospital, Al-Fallatta drove in at 2:30 in the morning. He dumped the injured Rania at the emergency room entrance telling nurses and staff that she was the victim of a car accident and was dead. He then left quickly saying he was going to bring other victims of the accident.

Rania is now co-hosting Al-Arabiya satellite news channel's morning program "Sabah Al-Arabiya" for ten days until Aug. 24. Although she still has two more major plastic surgeries to do on her face to repair the multiple fractures she suffered from having her face brutally smashed by her ex-husband Mohammed Fallata, she is putting on a brave new face for the audience she loves.

Sources: BBC, Arab News I, Arab News II, Arab News III, Asharq Alawsat.