Jordanian Lina Salwan's story with her stepmother is trending on social media platforms.
Jordanian girl Lena Slawan (28 years old), currently residing in California, USA, caused a wide stir on social media platforms after posting a series of videos on her TikTok account under the hashtag #Speaking_Out_Against_Abuse.
Slawan revealed in these videos that she had been subjected to what she described as "years of physical and psychological torture" by her stepmother Najah Bani Hamad.
Slawan said in one of the videos: "I was beaten daily, and on the day of my father's death, she beat me severely until blood flowed from my head, but she refused to take me to the hospital because she didn't want the marks of the beating to show on me."
She added: "She forced me to drink castor oil despite suffering from tonsillitis, causing me severe pain for days."
According to Slawan's account, her suffering began after her father's marriage to Najah Bani Hamad when she was seven years old. She stated: "My second mother married when I was 7 years old, and since that day, I never knew the meaning of childhood. She prevented me from eating with the family and made me sleep in a separate room from her children."
Slawan explained that sharing these details was based on the advice of her therapist, saying: "My therapist advised me to speak publicly about what I went through as part of the healing process. This is not personal revenge, but an attempt to recover from the effects of 20 years of violence."
On the other hand, there has been no official response from Najah Bani Hamad so far, and she does not have verified accounts on social media platforms, raising questions about her stance on these accusations.
It is worth mentioning that Slawan's videos garnered millions of views within just 72 hours of being posted, and the hashtag #Speaking_Out_Against_Abuse topped the list of the most trending topics on Twitter in Jordan for three consecutive days.
The Jordanian Family Protection Society commented on the issue, saying: "We are closely following this case and urge anyone experiencing domestic violence to contact our hotlines to report such cases."
