PA TV to men: When beating your wife, "carefully read the Quranic" guidelines
PA TV: Those who "use beatings and violence to solve marital problems"
should obey the Quran's "religious rules for beatings"
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
What might be considered a bad April Fool's Day joke in other parts of the world, was taught in earnest on official Palestinian Authority TV on April 1. A female PA TV reporter instructed those of PA TV's viewers "who use beatings and violence to solve their marital problems" to "carefully read" and "obey" the Quran's "religious rules for beatings":
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Official PA TV reporter:"To those who use beatings and violence to solve their marital problems: Carefully read the Quranic verse again [Sura 4:34]. There are solutions before giving beatings. If you have to, there are religious rules for beatings that must be obeyed. Guys, the goal of the beatings is rebuke in a way that does not cause injury. You can even go ask someone about it."
[Official PA TV, Talk of the Land, April 1, 2017]
Although the reporter did remind viewers that "there are solutions before giving beatings," she didn't categorically reject violence against women. That this green light for violence was given in earnest, and did not constitute an April Fool's Day's prank, is clear from other similar instructions disseminated by religious authorities on PA TV that Palestinian Media Watch has exposed.
A mufti explained on PA TV how men should hit their wives, when the previous steps of "warning them" and "separating from them in bed" have not worked:
"Not hitting that will bring the police, and break her hand and cause bleeding, or hitting that makes the face ugly."
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2016]
Click to view other broadcasts on PA TV relating to women's rights and position in Palestinian society documented by Palestinian Media Watch.