Woman Overboard: Egyptian Lady Thrown into Nile Over Divorce

Published March 28th, 2012 - 06:09 GMT
This anonymous Egyptian woman was lucky to be rescued by an unwitting fisherman. Other victims of honor killings are not usually so lucky.
This anonymous Egyptian woman was lucky to be rescued by an unwitting fisherman. Other victims of honor killings are not usually so lucky.

A fisherman saved the life of a young Egyptian woman after her parents threw her into the Nile River for divorcing an abusive, elderly husband, police said.

Women's rights groups in Egypt said they are working with authorities to gather more information about the attempted honor killing, Bikyamasr.com reported Wednesday.

If this is really what happened, then it shows there is a lot of work to counter honor violence in this country, where women and girls are killed because, simply, they are women, said Nora Tarek, a women's rights researcher in Cairo.

The young woman initially refused to marry the elderly man but later bowed to family pressure, Bikyamasr.com reported.

Her parents tossed her into the river when she returned home after divorcing him.

Last year, a 22-year-old Egyptian woman was found dead on a coastal road with a noose around her neck. A family member said the woman was killed by her brother for leaving home with a stranger.

Do you think this lady should have listened to her family about marrying an elederly man? And should she have gone back after the divorce?

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