In an old article I wrote: “Crime against women is a veiled crime against the State enveloped in a societal characteristic.” Rather, I realized that this hateful legacy is one of the arms of terrorist thought that does not rise normally with a society but comes frightening it under the guise of the phrase of a vital society. The invisible violent resistance to the reforms of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 has risen in the hearts of enemies of this homeland.

Murder and other cases of crimes escalated in a frightening and terrifying way, as if they were indirect messages of rejecting the empowerment of women and human rights reforms led vigorously by the State, which is giving top priority to the file of women. It is noteworthy that the Public Prosecution in taking up the cases of women, keeping pace with the reforms aimed at empowering them in all walks of life.

I would like to talk briefly about the initiative of the Public Prosecution to establish the Criminal Reconciliation Unit, out of its sense of social responsibility in promoting awareness and preventing harm before it occurs. Community service specialists and holders of higher educational degrees are supervising the unit.

Reconciliation plays a key role in maintaining social security, and the number of reconciliation units established so far across the Kingdom reached 19. The most significant thing with regard to these units is that the rate of settling disputes has exceeded 60 percent, and this is an excellent index that reflects the depth of professionalism shown by this unit in dealing with diverse criminal cases.

Here, I would like to tell every Saudi man and woman citizen not to hesitate to communicate with the competent authorities of this exemplary unit, so as not allow anyone to threaten your security and peace. There are certain agencies that are completely dedicated to ensure your protection, and if there is any failure on the part of one agency, you can approach the other one until you find the appropriate solution. Here, your awareness is important.

A young woman was stabbed to death by her husband in the broad day light near a super market in Jeddah’s Al-Rawabi district recently. This horrific incident, which went viral in social media in the hashtag of #Al-Rawabi killer, was highly distressing and saddening. When I heard about this, the first thing that came into my mind was that whether this distressed woman made any attempt to inform about her tragic situation to any security agencies or she was surrendered to her fate amid the killer’s threats.

There should be a community consciousness to ensure protection of these vulnerable groups who are subjected to violence and intimidation without getting heard their voice. Unfortunately, there is a failure on the part of some of the agencies who are entrusted with handling the crimes that occur behind the walls. Also, I want to reaffirm that the concept of domestic violence is completely wrong and the correct concept is crime against male or female citizen whatever their age, gender, or relationship between them.

Now, the challenge is to deliver this message to everyone who prepared themselves mentally to harm those around them. When one kills his household members, he also kills his country and moreover he kills the vision of his leaders. Hence, he is more harmful as a criminal than our external enemies. Because he leaves corpses and innocent victims in cold blood and he will be punished for claiming their lives and we will be subjected to more charges and external problems because of his crime.

With every crime that occurs, there has been an increase in the appetite of newspapers and media hostile to our country and keeping the image of Saudi women as a victim!I read many comments in the media pertaining to the negative orientation against women’s empowerment. This matter is worrisome because we see how the reforms are continuing and efforts for women empowerment are at their peak, and then comes these crimes that affect the security of all, with pouring in questions that make us return to the point of zero.

— The author can be reached on Twitter: @areejaljahani