“Our courts adhere to strict policy not to tolerate any degree of family violence, whether verbal or physical,’’ said Humaid al-Muhairi, director of the Justice Ministry’s judicial inspection department, in a statement on state news agency WAM.
Muhairi’s comments follow a report this week that the Federal Supreme Court found a man guilty of beating his wife and daughter while noting that Islamic codes allow for “discipline’’ if it leaves no marks.
The ruling earlier this month found that the man had exceeded the “right to discipline’’ his family because his wife had lip and teeth injuries, the state-owned daily The National reported.
The court also ruled that his 23-year-old daughter, who suffered bruises on her hand and knee, was too old to be disciplined by her father.
The decision upheld a lower-court ruling that found the man guilty of abuse and fined him the equivalent of $136, the paper said.
In yesterday’s statement, Muhairi defended the ruling, saying the man “was convicted of an excessive degree of chastisement of his wife’’ and that he had no right under Islamic Sharia law to beat his adult daughter.
He said that the ruling was in line with previous judgments and that there is no evidence of widespread domestic violence in the Emirates.
The UAE’s rulers are eager to safeguard the country’s Islamic traditions as the country rapidly modernizes.
