Morocco Slow to Enforce Laws on Women's Rights

A girl at the police station was not sure how old she was, either 13 or 14. As she was sitting on chair in the police station, she told a chilling account of being gang raped and she said she had no relatives willing to shelter her. Like many unmarried young girls in Morocco, she was afraid to admit to having a sexual relationship because of the social stigma but also because it is illegal to have had sex outside of marriage due to factors such as religion. In 2012, 16-year-old Aminia Filali committed suicide after a judge and her parents made her marry her alleged rapists, causing a national and international uproar. In 2004, Morocco changed its code of family law, shifting away from Islamic principles by granting more rights to women regarding divorce and polygamy, and rising the marriage age for women from 15 to 18. However, conservative judges have been finding ways to marry in 90% of the cases that have appeared more before them, according to a 2010 data report by the Justice Ministry. And while human rights groups are urging Moroccan leaders to further reinforce women’s rights amending the penal code remains a sensitive issue. To avoid more tragedies like the Filali suicide, rights groups say that Morocco must change article 475 in its penal code which allows for a charge to be dropped in cases of statutory rape if the two parties get married. One interpretation of this provision has allowed rapists to swap the charges against them for a wedding ring and a child bride. In January, the Justice Ministry issued a statement saying it was in favor of abrogating Article 475 and human rights groups are confident it will be struck down by Parliament. The Islamist-led government, however, is not showing much impetus to act. From a sociologist perspective, you can see that religion has a huge influence on how the government handles things. Since religion shapes almost every aspect of life in Morocco, the rights of women may be a much larger issue at hand. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/middleeast/morocco-slow-to-enforce-laws-on-womens-rights.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

4:50 PM, 4/12/13 

Alice Gunning