A father has let his 20-year-old daughter drown rather have her “dishonoured” by allowing male life guards to touch her. The incident happened in Dubai.
The identity of the man, who was arrested at the scene, is unknown. The incident was related to the Emirates 24/7 newspaper by Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmed Burqibah, deputy director of the police search and rescue department, who referred to the man only as an Asian expat, describing him as “tall and strong”.
“The Asian father took his wife and kids to the beach for picnic and fun,” he said. “The kids were swimming in the beach when suddenly the 20-year-old girl started drowning and screaming for help. Two rescue men were at the beach and they rushed to help the girl.
“There was one obstacle which prevented them from reaching the girl and helping her. This obstacle was the belief of this Asian man who considered that if these men touched his daughter, then this would dishonour her. It cost him the life of his daughter.
“The father was a tall and strong man. He started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them. He told them that he prefers his daughter being dead than being touched by a strange man.”
The man has since been prosecuted for this role in his drowning daughter’s death, but Lieutenant-Colonel Burqibah said that the event had had a profound and lasting impact on those who witnessed it. “This is one of the incidents which I cannot forget. It shocked me and many others who were involved in the case,” he said. “She died, unfortunately, at a time when she had a chance to live, especially as the rescue men were so close to her.”