Lying on a mattress in the hallway of the women’s ward in the Mental Health Institute in Gaza, 17-year-old Aya looks calm and childishly innocent after the nurses had given her a sleeping pill. She had not been as serene in the morning, however. According to psychiatrist Khitam al-Sheikh Ali, who runs the ward, Aya had bitten one of the nurses in an episode during a nervous breakdown.

The teenager’s mother explained that she had brought her daughter to the hospital after her delusions reached an undeniable point and Aya began to believe that her brothers were plotting to kill her. She said Aya had been living with a psychological disorder for a long time, but that it had worsened in the wake of the war against Gaza in 2008.

Aya’s condition makes her 22-year-old sister sad. Whenever she visits, she places her hand in front of Aya’s nose while she sleeps to make sure she is breathing. The family seems worried as well as embarrassed by the incident with the nurse earlier in the morning.

The psychiatrist explained, “The problem is that Aya’s mother stopped administering the medication to her daughter, since she thought religious treatment would make her feel better. Aya’s mother took her to Saudi Arabia to visit the Kaaba. However, stopping the medication just made matters worse.”