Joys of Islam, Part 856: Almost Half of Egyptian Wives Beaten

This would normally be considered a world calamity, but since they're beaten in the name of the Religion of Peace, it barely gets noticed. Imagine the reaction if it was reported that half of American wives were beaten. This elicits stifled yawns.

Almost half of married Egyptian women have been physically abused by their husbands, a study by the government statistics centre said on Wednesday.

The study by CAPMAS said that 47 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported being victims of domestic violence and seven percent said a spouse raped them, state news agency MENA reported.

Domestic violence is punishable under Egyptian law, but police are reluctant to intervene in something that is considered a private matter, said an Egyptian women's rights activist.

"If a woman complains, it would be considered a crime. But if she doesn't, the husband won't be punished," Nahed Abu el-Qumsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, told AFP.

The National Association of Gals were unavailable for comment.