People protesting in streets against the death of Teenage Amina Filali who killed herself just to escape marriage with her rapist
Morocco: A sixteen years old teenage girl Amina Filali who was raped and later who committed suicide on condition of escaping the marriage with her rapist has raised issues of women existence in the north Africa. She was raped and beaten up badly and she committed suicide on 18 March2012 and till date nothing has been done. Though thousands of people have shown support and have created numbers of events on social network against the act but formal things seem to be stalled. According to the law of morocco, in any case related to woman rape, the rapist can avoid prosecution and a long prison sentence by marrying his victim if she is a minor. Since 2006, the government has promised to strike this down and pass legislation prohibiting violence against women, but it hasn’t happened.
women activist staging a protest for Amina Filali
In regards to the case the BBC says, when the 16-year-old girl’s family told the authorities she had been raped they were advised to let her attacker marry her, to preserve their honor. As a result Filali was then forced to marry the man she had accused, and when she complained to her relatives that he had beaten her she was disowned. It was then that the desperate girl drank rat poison. But, according to witnesses, that was not the end of her suffering. Her husband became so enraged when he realized what had happened that he dragged her down the street by her hair as she died.
In many parts of the Middle East, there is a tradition where a rapist can escape prosecution if he is married to his victim. There is a similar injunction in the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy.
The Huffington post claims, a possible of a change in the country law system as it says “An online petition, a Facebook page and countless tweets expressed horror over the suicide of Amina Filali, who swallowed rat poison on Saturday to protest her marriage to the man who raped her a year earlier.”
With such law thousands of Moroccan citizens are protesting to turn this law down and to establish the rule of law. In support of the act Aawaz.org is organizing a online campaign, “RIP Amina” to collect 250,000 signature to support the Moroccan citizen in their struggle to challenge and revoke the article 475 of the Moroccan penal code.
Let’s support the cause in making woman of 21 century feel secure in every possibility of her independence. A woman anywhere in the world has her rights to her decision and will. In such regards she cannot be limited by orthodox rules and regulation. Freedom is her will and independence is her identity.
WAKE UP WORLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shreedeep Rayamajhi
