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RABAT, March 15, 2012
As a result of the uproar brought about by the case of the teenager Amina Filali, who put an end to her life this past Saturday, the Moroccan government seems to heed the call of people to launch a debate on the abolition of article 475 of the Moroccan penal code. In an interview with state television channel 2M, Bassima Hakkaoui, Minister for Women and Families on Thursday called for a change of this law that allows a rapist to marry his victim and called for a debate to reform the law.
Amina Filali, A 16-year-old Moroccan girl committed suicide after a judge in the northern city of Tangier issued a ruling ordering her to marry her rapist.
Nousha Skalli, former Minister for Women and Families, also called for the reform of the law. “The law treats the raped minor like a criminal even if she was the victim of violence ,” she was quoted by AFP as saying.
“We have to reform the criminal code to adapt to the new constitution, which forbids violence against women and ensures the equality of the sexes,” she added.
Shortly after this news was made public, many expressed shock and disbelief that something this barbaric could occur in their country. They called for the Moroccan penal code to be amended to offer greater protection for women and harsher penalties for those that commit atrocious crimes against them.
While some were equally critical of the judge’s decision and called for his removal from the bench, others called for his prosecution.
An online petition has been started and protests are planned for Saturday against a law branded by campaigners as an “embarrassment”.
On Thursday, 300 protesters staged a sit-in outside the local court that had approved the marriage, a demonstration organised by Morocco’s Democratic League for Women’s Rights.
