Life Amongst The Barbarians
The U.N. finds that one quarter of married Syrian women have been beaten, writes Katherine Zoepf in The New York Times:

Hana Qaddoura, a spokeswoman for the General Union of Women, said that breaking the silence on domestic abuse was an essential first step to combating violence. Many Syrians, she said, do not believe that violence in the home "counts" as violence.

"There are some forms of violence against women that our society doesn't even see as violence," Ms. Qaddoura said. "It all depends very much on education and income level, but many people see a woman who is beaten as being in a bad relationship; they don't see her as a victim of violence."

...Bassam al-Kadi, a rights advocate, said the report was part of a growing openness about many forms of domestic abuse. He has been working on a public information campaign to curb the practice known as honor killings — the killing of women who are believed to have dishonored their families by engaging in illicit sex.

"Until two years ago, discussion of honor killing was banned in the Syrian media," Mr. Kadi said. "The incidents might be discussed individually, as 'accidents,' but talking about honor killing as a phenomenon was forbidden. Now these subjects are becoming much more open."

Women's advocates say that though any attempt to broaden discussion of domestic violence is welcome, they have seen little effort by the government to address the topic in practical terms. Shelters for battered women are few and poorly publicized, and there are no formal channels for abused women to seek assistance.

"As it is now, there are still no mechanisms to report violence against women," Mr. Abdul Salam said. "We hope that this study will soon lead to practical action on the ground."

Hmmm...maybe all those Muslims rioting how the West treats them should first riot over how they treat themselves.