Video of a Man Assaulting a Woman in Saudi Arabia Divides Internet

A video of what appears to be a man assaulting a woman in the streets of Saudi Arabia has circulated the Internet. 

Little is known about the incident as there is no official account verifying it, but the video seemed to show the woman clashing with the man, before he beat her violently and shoved her to the ground. Screams of other women at the scene can also be heard.

Activists created a tag  #رجل_يعتدي_على_بنت (Man assaults a woman) on social media, where opinions about the man's behavior were divided. Some said he was a municipal employee and the woman was an African vendor who violated the law, provoking the employee to beat her.

Others called out the man for his violent behavior, stressing the need to address violence against women.

One Twitter user said: “This is the mistake of the two African for entering the park and selling things illegally. This is a secret security man who they have assaulted multiple times previously.

However, there is no evidence that this statement was accurate and some activists argued that regardless of the context, the man in the video still should not have physically assaulted her.

A Twitter user called Fatima said that "these cases happen every once in a while in Saudi Arabia, and nobody ever does anything about it. They always seem to disregard the issue of abuse against women, dismissing such brutal cases to never be heard of again." 

According to a local newspaper, the security services in the capital Riyadh have arrested the man after he revealed his identity, and investigations have begun to uncover the circumstances behind the incident.