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Woman Commits Suicide after Having Unwanted Daughter
An Egyptian woman married to a man with six daughters from previous marriages drowned herself Saturday just hours after giving birth to a girl, because she feared her husband's reaction to fathering another daughter.
The 27-year-old woman left her home in Saff, a rural town about 40 kilometers south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and drowned herself in an irrigation canal three hours after giving birth to her second daughter, police officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Before his wife gave birth, her husband had threatened to kill or divorce her if the couple had any more daughters, police said. Having given birth to what would be her husband's seventh daughter, the woman apparently chose to take her life rather than face the consequences of society's view on divorced women.
Society in rural Egypt is largely conservative, and many parents often prefer having sons to daughters for cultural and economical reasons. Similar occurrences have taken place in other rural societies in East Asia.
Divorce is considered a taboo in such areas. Many women would rather have their husband take a second wife than be divorced. Divorced women generally go on to face a cold society that looks down on women who cannot be of proper service to a male-centered culture.
The husband, 38, had been married three times before. In each case, he divorced his wives after they gave birth to girls. At the time of this report, the husband was not being held or questioned for the implications of this tragic suicide. The lack of societal accountability for such events reinforces these continuing circumstances.
Questions
Choose the correct explanation for the following phrases…
- The woman apparently chose to take her life. To "take her life" means:
- Police officers told the press "on condition of anonymity" means:
- Divorced women expect to face a "cold society" means:
- The "lack of societal accountability" means:
- Divorce is considered a taboo in such areas. The word "taboo" in this sentence means:
Are the following statements about the article correct?
1. It would also be correct to say that "this event took place in a rural area of the Egypt".
2. The man described in this article killed his wife for giving birth to a girl.
3. Egypt is not the only area in the world in which events like this have taken place.
4. The husband in this article has been arrested for his role in his wife's death.
5. In some cases, death seems to be a more favorable outcome than divorce as a result of not producing males.