Outrage over suicide of Moroccan teen forced to marry rapist

[sluce]

Outrage over suicide of Moroccan teen forced to marry rapist
AFP – 11 hrs ago...


A minister in Morocco's Islamist government on Thursday called for a change to a law allowing a rapist to marry his victim after a 16-year-old teenager forced into such a union committed suicide.

Bassima Hakkaoui, Minister for Women and Families and the only woman in the cabinet, called for a debate to reform the law, in comments to state television channel 2M.

Her predecessor in the post Nouzha Skalli also declared herself shocked by the affair and called for the law to be changed.

Amina al-Filali, 16, drank rat poison last week in Larache, near Tangiers in the north, after being forced to marry the man who raped her.

He had sought to escape prison by invoking an article of the penal code that authorises the rapist to marry to escape prosecution.

This is something to which the families of such victims often agree because the loss of a woman's virginity outside of marriage is considered a dishonour to her family.

Filali's funeral took place Sunday in the northern town of Larache.

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.

It was the League that publicised Filalai's suicide as part of its campaign against the law.

On Wednesday the League's president Fouzia Assouli condemned the relevant article of the law, saying that while it ostensibly defended family values it did not uphold the rights of women.

"The law treats the raped minor like a criminal even if she was the victim of violence," Skalli told 2M television during an extended programme on the affair.

"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."

The affair has also provoked an explosion of outrage in the news media and on the Internet. Activists have set up an online petition calling for the law to be changed, which within hours attracted hundreds of signatures.

Under Moroccan law, rape is punishable by five to 10 years in prison -- or between 10 and 20 years if the victim is a minor.

Outrage over suicide of Moroccan teen forced to marry rapist - Yahoo! News

[greysfang]

Poor baby. I hope her death is the catalyst for change.

[McJag]

Can't blame this poor child forced to marry a pervert. This has got to change.

[Kat Scorp]

Africa
Moroccans call for end to rape-marriage laws
Activists push to overturn laws allowing rapists to marry their victims, after a 16-year-old girl kills herself.
Last Modified: 15 Mar 2012 16:34

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Moroccan women have campaigned for more women's rights in proposed constitutional reforms [Reuters]
Activists in Morocco have stepped up pressure to overturn laws that allow rapists to marry their victims, after a 16-year-old girl killed herself.

Amina Al Filali, 16, drank rat poison last week in Larache, near the city of Tangiers after being severely beaten during a forced marriage to her rapist.

The girl's rapist had sought to escape prison by invoking an article of the penal code that he claimed would exonerate him if the rape victim was his wife.

Activist Abadila Maaelaynine wrote on the social network site Twitter: "Amina, 16, was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition, and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law."

An online petition has been started and protests are planned for Saturday against a law branded by campaigners as an "embarrassment".

Family disowns

Women's rights groups have said the law is used to justify a traditional practice of allowing a rapist to marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman's family.

Under Moroccan law, rape is punishable by five to 10 years in prison, rising to between 10 and 20 years if the victim is a minor.

Filali's father said that when he reported the rape of his daughter, he was advised of the option to marry by court officials.

"The prosecutor advised my daughter to marry. He said: 'Go and make the marriage contract'," Lahcen Filali told the online news website goud.ma.

Local media has reported that the girl complained to her family about her mistreatment at the hands of the man who raped her, but they disowned her perhaps prompting her to take her own life.

Women's rights

In some societies, including several in the Arab world, the loss of a woman's virginity outside of marriage is considered a dishonour to her family. Arrangements are often made for rape victims to marry their attackers.

Witnesses say her husband became so outraged when she drank the poison he dragged her down the street by her hair, and she died shortly afterward.

A Facebook page called "We are all Amina Filali" has been created. Campaigners are also calling for the judge who allowed the marriage and the rapist to be jailed.

Morocco updated its so-called family code in 2004 in a move to improve the situation of women, but activists say there is still room for improvement. Proposed constitutional reforms in Morocco include moves to boost women's rights.

A government study last year found that about 25 per cent of Moroccan women have been sexually assaulted at least once in their lives.

source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...325471675.html


Oh, how I WISH I could have faith that justice would be served upon the head of her rapist. But just watch as he is protected by the clerics

[stef]

Women's rights groups have said the law is used to justify a traditional practice of allowing a rapist to marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman's family.

this is disgusting.

Witnesses say her husband became so outraged when she drank the poison he dragged her down the street by her hair, and she died shortly afterward.

god, this poor girl. her death must've been horrible and painful.

[Working Girl]

Horrible, i hope it wakes people up!

[SHELLEE]

How sad, may she rest in peace.