WUNRN
MOROCCO - FILM - SUICIDE OF GIRL
FORCED TO MARRY RAPIST LED TO PUBLIC OUTRAGE & CHANGED LAW
FILM SEGMENT - http://vimeo.com/60159667
Amina Filali is a 16-year old Moroccan girl who committed suicide after being forced to marry her alleged rapist. Her tragical death dominated Moroccan and international media in March 2012. Through this horrifying affair this film explores legal, political, religious and social issues that plague Moroccan women-- chipping away at the facade of equality that disguises a deep-seated patriarchal system.
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Women's Learning Partnership - WLP
Morocco makes major reform to rape
law, after advocacy by women's movement
January 9, 2014 - Following significant
advocacy by WLP Morocco/ADFM and other Moroccan women’s rights organizations,
on January 8, 2014, the Moroccan Parliament finally adopted the draft law to
amend article 475 of the Criminal /penal Code, which allowed rapists to escape
prosecution if they married their victim. This article has mainly been used to
justify the traditional practice of pressuring the victim to marry her rapist
in the name of “preserving the honor of the girl’s family.” This new
amendment removes the second paragraph of the article, lifting the immunity of
the rapist and preventing him from marrying his victim. Momentum for the
reform increased exponentially following then 2012 tragic death of 16-year-old
Amina Filali –authorities believe she was either murdered by her rapists’
family or committed suicide–after being forced to marry her rapist. The
bill to amend Article 475 was proposed by the Socialist Group in the
parliament.
The day before the Bill was to be debated
in parliament, the Spring of Dignity Coalition, which includes ADFM, sent a letter
to all members of parliament to stress the demands of the feminist movement
concerning this amendment, urging for the movements’ appeals to be considered
during the Bill’s deliberations. This long-overdue reform marks a significant
step for the women of
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----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2012 11:21 AM
Subject: Morocco - Suicide of Girl Forced to Marry Rapist Spurs
Outrage
WUNRN
Link to Full BBC Article:
15 March 2012 - Moroccan activists have stepped up pressure to scrap laws that allow rapists to marry their victims - after a 16-year-old girl killed herself. Amina Filali swallowed rat poison after being severely beaten during a forced marriage to her rapist. An online petition has been started - and protests are planned against a law branded by campaigners as an "embarrassment".The penal code allows the "kidnapper" of a minor to marry her to escape jail........
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MOROCCO
- SUICIDE OF GIRL REPORTEDLY WED TO RAPIST SPURS OUTRAGE
March 14, 2012 - The suicide of a Moroccan teenager who
reportedly had been forced to marry her rapist has spurred calls
from around the world to change criminal laws long lamented by Moroccan
feminists.
Human rights groups complain that Moroccan law has been
interpreted to allow someone who rapes a minor to escape punishment if he
marries the victim. Moroccan media reported that was what happened to Amina
Filali, a 16-year-old who reportedly swallowed rat poison Saturday.
"It is unfortunately a recurring phenomenon,"
Fouzia Assouli, the president of the Democratic League for Women's Rights,
told the Associated Press. "We have been asking for years for the
cancellation of Article 475 of the penal code, which allows the rapist to
escape justice.”
The Moroccan government has argued that the law applies
only if the victim agrees to marry, but activists say young women can be
pressured into marriage to protect family honor. Her father told a Moroccan
news website that the courts had pushed the idea, the Associated Press
reported.
Activists took to Twitter to spread news of the reported
suicide using the hashtag #RIPAmina. "The tragedy of Amina is a disgrace
to humanity," Emirati political commentator Mishaal Al Gergawi wrote.
The 16-year-old was not legally old
enough to marry:
Moroccan women are seen as better protected than other
women in
The new Moroccan Constitution sets up the principle of
equality between men and women in all spheres. Compared with other countries in
the Arab region,
Yet Moroccan women still face laws that are lenient
toward husbands who harm their wives, unequal inheritances and other
inequities, according to reports from human rights groups. Nearly
two-thirds of Moroccan women are subjected to violence in their lifetimes,
according to a survey last year.