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Zaruhi and Domestic Violence in Armenia Revisited
Special to the Armenian Weekly
A little over seven years ago, Zaruhi Petrosyan met her death as a result of domestic violence. Her horrific demise brought to the public’s attention a problem that many knew existed but never confronted. I will not recount the physical violence and emotional abuse Zaruhi endured on a daily basis that ultimately led to her death at the hands of a man who should have been her protector and comforter.
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I have to leave my two cents because I have dealt with this issue time and time again.
A law is a step in the right direction but the conversation has mostly devolved into arguments about patriarchy, culture, gender roles, etc. It’s disappointing. Mental health and alcohol has a lot to do with the domestic abuse. Many of the abusers have PTSD, are bipolar, schizophrenic, or have anger and alcohol problems. Poverty also plays a large role. Many people have little control over their lives and happily grasp onto whatever they can control, in some cases it is the wife, the children, the parents, and so on.
I’m surprised in-laws have not been discussed regarding this issue. In some cases it is not the husband but his parents who abuse his wife. I was shocked at the behavior of some mothers-in-law in Armenia. I’m not too shocked it hasn’t been noted since a woman abusing another woman doesn’t fit the narrative many hold.
Mental health professionals, economic development, and parents putting less pressure on their daughters to get married so early into families they barely know will solve the vast majority of the problem. I just hope the diaspora will wake up to this truth, drop the ideology and aid in objectively solving the issue.
Heartfelt sympathies go to every one of those women victims (of cowardly husbands) and to their children who have been left motherless by their own fathers. Of course, this behaviour is not specific to some Armenian men only, but is prevalent in most if not all Eastern nations. It is all to do with ancient male-dominated traditions passed down the generations where the man is accepted as the ‘house ruler’ who must be obeyed at all costs and the woman is subservient in her own home. However, in this day and age this ‘norm’ of behaviour should have no place in today’s world especially in so-called modern and civilised nations. If our motherland Armenia is to be described as a civilised nation then all civilised Armenians must voice their strongest condemnation against the barbaric medieval mentality and deeds of all violent Armenian husbands, fathers, etc.
Zero tolerance to domestic violence! It is criminal to beat women under any circumstance!
Thank you Michael for this great overview of our fight to advocate for the passage of the domestic violence law. Also I much appreciated your explanations and information on how domestic abuse affects women and how difficult it is in Armenia’s society to get out from such a situation. Attitudes of men and women must change and men and women must understand that women are not possessions of men and that husbands are not entitled to everything with impunity. A DV law is so important because it points out that this behavior is not tolerated and is unacceptable. Please sign the petition.
Stupidity and ignorance.
Nearly a quarter of females living in the US get beaten and sexually assaulted (and sometimes murdered) by their workplace superiors, spouses or boyfriends. Nearly a quarter of females living in the US become sexually active in their early teens. Nearly three quarters of females living in the US regularly use or are addicted to some form of drug. Half of all married women in the US end up divorced. Millions of young girls in the US either run away from their home or are thrown out of their homes by their parents, and they end up working for the country’s booming sex industry. Millions more of females in the US are encouraged to be sexually active, interracial and experiment with homosexuality.
Is this the “liberation” of women the West preaches?
Or is this is destruction of western women and thus the traditional family?
Western countries are not a standard for anything that is good anymore. Western country’s have no right to impose their “values” on fledgling nations like Armenia. Yet, because of greedy Armenian politicians (this greed is the fundamental reason behind Armenia’s complimentary politics) and a thoroughly zombified/Westernized Diaspora, corrosive Western agendas continue seeping into Armenia.
Relatively speaking, the situation of women in Armenia is better than what has happened to women in the Western world. Armenia is a young nation located in a very troubled region. Armenia is a fledgling nation going through growing pains. Therefore, Armenia naturally has many problems, and the mistreatment of women is merely one of them. What’s important to understand is that all of Armenia’s problems need to be solved internally by Armenian themselves. Armenians do not need “laws” written by Western powers. What Armenians need is socioeconomic stability and education. What Armenia does not need is more Globalist – Cultural Marxist – poisons being imported into the young country. What Armenia needs is an “Armenian” solution for its domestic problems.
How about we slap you around and see how you might feel. I have lost respect for Armenians from Armenia both men who think their wife is theirs to slap around and women who tolerate it. Shame on you all. This behaviour is uncivilized.
I am ashamed of the domestic violence behavior of my fellow Armenian
people. The Armenian government is shameful if it does not make it a high priority to solve this problem. Such domestic violence is certainly criminal behavior.
Indeed a horrible condition. Along with writing laws criminalizing domestic violence, Armenia should require appropriate classes in school for boys and girls age 12 and older. They need to know that the old mores no longer apply. Further, Norserunt’s diatribe against U.S. is another disgusting example why things don’t change in a timely manner. Suggesting that Diasporans keep their two cents to themselves is what’s keeping Armenia from evolving and thriving in the 21st century.