Saudi violence against women

A bold move by a popular Saudi television host to expose the kingdom's long-hidden problem of violence against women:

Rania al-Baz has been hailed as a hero for letting newspaper photographers snap pictures of her face and for frankly discussing her case after she said a beating by her husband earlier this month left her unconscious.

Her story has been widely reported in the Saudi media. A Saudi princess stepped forward to pay al-Baz's medical bills. Representatives of the new Saudi National Human Rights Association visited her in the hospital.

Al-Baz told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Sunday that once she is back at work, she will press a violence-against-women awareness campaign.

"I known many women in Saudi Arabia are badly beaten and when I recover I will do a program addressing that," she said.

She said she also will try to tackle other topics, like rape, that are usually not publicly discussed in conservative Saudi Arabia.