Wife exposes husband's abuse on social media in UAE

Picture used for illustrative purposes alone

A Filipino mother who claims to be a victim of domestic abuse has taken to social media to expose her husband, Khaleej Times has learned.
"I suffer for so many years. Please M.H., (full name withheld) divorce me," reads a plea on the LinkedIn and Instagram profile of Mary Ann Batulanon, along with a close-up picture of her bruised face.
"This has been going on for many years. He beats me up black and blue without any mercy. I cannot take it anymore," Batulanon,30, told Khaleej Times over the phone. The mother of a four-year old girl has filed for divorce and the case is pending at the Abu Dhabi family court.
The husband M.H. who works for a bank, rubbished the allegations when Khaleej Times spoke to him on Monday.
"It is not true. She hurts herself every time and goes to the court to file case against me," said the husband. Batulanon who works as a receptionist in a car showroom in Abu Dhabi, got married to Jordanian M.H. in 2012, after converting to Islam.
According to her, the husband started subjecting her to domestic violence from the early days of marriage. A hospital record dated 29.06.2016 produced by her shows she had bluish discolouration of skin due to bruises caused by external trauma.
Batulanon said she moved out of her husband's house last week due to another instance of domestic abuse. "All I want from him now is a divorce. He should also pay for my daughter's maintenance. I took to social media so that the world knows what he is doing to me," she said. The husband on his part said, he was willing to give her divorce. "But if she slanders my name in social media, I will take legal action against her," said M.H.
Couple reconciled once
According to court documents, Mary Ann Batulanon has filed for divorce from her husband M.H. in 2016, and also applied for custody of her four-year-old daughter.
The court documents also show the woman had earlier complained about the husband beating her up but the couple had reconciled and the case was dropped.
A court official said the family prosecution had forwarded the case to court after the husband failed to appear before the family guidance committee.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com
With inputs from Ismail Sebugwaawo