Saudi Arabia: Assaulted nurse feted
Nursing association bestows membership on resilient woman
Cairo: In a gesture of support and appreciation, the Saudi Nurses Association has granted its membership to a young nurse who was physically attacked while on duty at a hospital in the kingdom last month.
A viral video showed the Saudi nurse being dragged by a man on the floor of the hospital in Asir region in south-western Saudi Arabia, sparking massive anger and calls for punishment against the assaulter.
In the aftermath, the nurse, named Salma Al Shehri said in a TV interview that she will overcome the shock from the assault and allow nothing to break her as nursing is her dream job.
The board of the Saudi Nurses Association has decided to grant its full-fledged membership for two years to the nurse in appreciation of her efforts, Okaz newspaper has reported.
The association described Al Shehri as an “inspiring example of the Saudi nurse” and her humanitarian services to society.
The nurse said last month that she was working in the sorting area where patients’ temperatures and blood pressure are measured at the hospital in Al Majaridah governorate where the man went berserk and attacked her.
Al Shehri added that the man repeatedly hit her and when she fell on the ground, he dragged her from the sorting area to the men’s department much to shock of all those were present.
The man is seen in the video dragging the woman on the floor as others try to stop him. The suspect, identified as a Saudi citizen, was arrested later and referred to prosecution, police said.
Commenting on the incident, the Saudi Health Ministry said that verbal or physical attacks on health workers is punishable by law.
Penalties include a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of SR1 million.