Outrage sparked in Kuwait after woman murdered by previously reported harasser

Farah Hamza Akbar's killer had harassed her multiple times after her family allegedly refused his marriage proposal, the Associated Press reported. 

Many people took to social media following the incident demanding harsher sentences for those who enact violence against women.

Footage of the victim’s distraught sister screaming outside the hospital quickyl gained traction online.

“I told you again and again he would kill her, and now she’s dead!” the clearly distraughter sister cries in the video.

Soon after the video emerged, Akbar’s name became one of the most popular hashtags to trend on Twitter in Kuwait and surrounding Gulf states.

Celebrities such as Ascia al-Faraj, a Kuwaiti fashion blogger, shared and denounced the video of Akbar, saying the country is “not safe for women”.

Many pointed the blame at local authorities who released the perpetrator despite being reported for his abuse.

On Tuesday, Kuwait's Ministry of Interior confirmed in a statement that the perpetrator had snatched the woman from her car on the highway and took her to an “unknown destination” where he stabbed her in the heart.

Her bleeding body was later found outside a hospital south of the Kuwaiti capital.

The attacker was rearrested by police on Tuesday hours after fatally stabbing Akbar while on bail for harassment charges.

Kuwait’s legal code has come under increasing fire from activists who say such killings are common in the Gulf state.

Kuwaiti law stipulates a man who kills his wife or sister for committing adultery would only face a maximum of three years in prison for what is classified as a misdemeanor.

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