Protecting a child

Katherine Lam reports in the New York Post,

Parents of a Texas high school student who was reported missing in late January had abused their daughter after she refused an arranged marriage, leading her to run away from home until she was found in mid-March, police said.

Maarib Al Hishmawi, 16, was reported missing on Jan. 30 after she was last seen leaving Taft High School in Bexar County. She was located in mid-March when she was taken in by an organization that cared for her after she ran away, KSAT reported.



Authorities on Friday said Al Hishmawi’s parents — Abdulah Fahmi Al Hishmawi, 34, and Hamdiyah Saha Al Hishmawi, 33 — had allegedly beaten their daughter with a broomstick and poured hot cooking oil on her when she refused to marry a man in another city. The parents reportedly agreed to the arranged marriage in exchange for $20,000.

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Abdulah Fahmi Al Hishmawi, and Hamdiyah Saha Al HishmawiBexar County Sheriff's Office
“This young lady, at various times over that time period was subjected to some pretty bad abuse because she didn’t want to be married to this person,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said on Friday, according to KSAT.

“Several times it was reported to us that this young lady was abused with hot cooking oil being thrown on her body. She was beat with broomsticks,” Salazar added. “At least at one point, she was choked almost to the point of unconsciousness.”

The teenage girl and her five siblings, between the ages of 5 and 15, were placed under Child Protective Services custody.

The parents face charges of continuous violence against a family member. They were taken into custody on Friday.

Police said the man who was arranged to be married to Al Hishmawi may also be charged in the case.

Does the parent have rights?

Emily Gruenhagen writes,

On Wednesday, November 16th, a northern Minnesota mother filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal district court. She is asking the court to restore her 14th amendment constitutional due process rights which she claims were violated when her parental rights were suddenly and arbitrarily removed. [See press release.]

In June, 2015, without her knowledge, consent, or involvement, Anmarie Calgaro’s fifteen-year-old son obtained a “Notice of Emancipation” from Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, a nonprofit agency that provides free legal services to low income people.

Using this document alone, state agencies and private services shut Anmarie out of every important physical, emotional, and educational decision her minor son was making. Suddenly and without notice, she no longer had access to his school or health records. Without her consent, the state issued him a state driver’s license and county health services approved housing and other county services.

A private health service began prescribing dangerous hormonal drugs to ‘transition’ him from male to female. This health service never consulted her, even though these controversial and largely untested drugs cause potentially irreversible effects and have unknown long-term risks. He was even prescribed narcotics from another health service. Clearly, Anmarie’s God-given and constitutionally protected parental rights have been violated. And her responsibilities to care for her son’s physical and emotional health and safety have been blocked by the actions of these agencies and services. She has been denied the chance to plead her case in court.

Read more here.