By Taleen El Gharib | Local News Junior Editor

While gender-based violence and femicides in Lebanon were not uncommon, the frequency of witnessing such cases following the country’s economic turmoil has skyrocketed. It was only earlier this month that Lebanon witnessed a horrific crime against Mona Al-Homsi in the city of Tripoli in North Lebanon, and yet again, another woman falls victim to a barbaric “honor killing”. 

On March 25, Hassan Moussa Zeaiter shot his wife, Zainab Ali Zeaiter, ten times in the head in front of their three children in Sahraa Choueifat. Zainab’s fate, like many women in her situation, was written by a gruesome and unjust patriarchal mentality, in a country where her murderer walks freely. On the night of the murder, security forces and investigators flooded the scene before the bloodied corpse was taken to the nearest hospital. 

Following the murder, an infuriating video circulated online of Hassan Zeaiter and Zainab’s brother as the pair expressed how the crime “washed away his [Hassan] shame, and Hassouna’s [the victim’s brother] shame”. Zainab’s brother even reiterated that he and Hassan are on good terms, as his brother-in-law did what he “intended to do” to his sister in the name of the family’s honor. The two proceeded to open a café owned by the victim’s brother as a sign of solidarity. 

According to Al-Monitor’s Beatrice Farhat, multiple rumors have circulated regarding the motive behind his crime, some claiming that Hassan saw pictures of Zainab without her hijab on her phone while others speculated that he suffered from a “neurological disorder” and committed the crime after receiving anonymous calls that accused his wife of cheating. 

Despite the publicity this crime received, as well as the outrage that was expressed on all social media platforms, no progress, or even any effort, has been made to capture Hassan and persecute him for his crime. A source told local media outlets that he fled the country after a search warrant was issued. According to reports, Zainab’s phone which allegedly had pictures of her without her hijab was not found at the scene of the crime. 

With every case of gender-based violence and femicide, the demands for proper law enforcement are renewed—but to no avail. In a country that greatly lacks security and protection, especially for women and girls, where murderers, harassers, abusers, and rapists walk freely, women are increasingly becoming among the most vulnerable groups in the country. The economic crisis has largely impacted the state of law enforcement (albeit already poor even before the crisis) in Lebanon, and with the most authority given to religious courts where women’s rights are often of low priority, reform has become a fantasy than a prospective reality.