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Rabat- Oumaima Requas has become the first to file a complaint of sexual harassment just days before the law on violence against women goes into effect.
When Requas was heading to a cafe to meet her husband on Friday, September 6, three men approached her, making sexual remarks and gestures, which they continued even after she joined her husband.
Requas’ husband intervened to stop the harassment, but one of the three men tried to throw a glass at him. The three men are allegedly comedians known to the Moroccan public.
Requas filed a complaint against the harassers immediately after she left the scene.
The men allegedly tried to escape the situation by claiming that they were only practising for a skit, reported Moroccan news outlet H24 info.
The incident took place just a few days before the law criminalizing public harassment and all forms of violence, is set to take effect on Wednesday, September 12.
The government published the final draft of the law on February 22.
In April, Morocco World News received an unofficial English translation of the law’s text from the international non-profit women’s rights organization, Mobilising for Rights Associates.
According to the law, those who sexually harass in public spaces, by use of words, acts, or signals of a sexual nature for sexual purposes, will face prison sentences ranging from one to six months, as well as a fine ranging from MAD 2,000 to 10,000.
The law was originally set to take effect in August, however the government decided to delay its implementation until September.
Bouchra Abdou, an activist, feminist, and president of Tahadi Center, told Morocco World News that she did not “really understand what the delay was about.”
She said that the law should have been used in Moroccan courts beginning in August. She added that there is no problem if it is delayed until September as the most “important” thing is that the law will be “finally” put into force.
A series of rapes making headlines in Morocco
Moroccan activists and feminists questioned whether there is any law that criminalizes violence against women in Morocco, especially after the publicization of several rape cases and violent incidents.
Morocco’s rate of reported rapes increased from 800 cases in 2016 to 1,600 cases in 2017, according to an annual report issued by the King’s attorney general, Mohamed Abdel Nabawi.
Just one month after the parliament passed the law, authorities arrested a 21-year-old man who sexually assaulted a young girl in public on the street in Ben Guerir city in central Morocco.
The spine-chilling video of the incident, filmed by the culprit’s accomplice, sparked nationwide uproar among Moroccans on social media platforms, who called on authorities to immediately intervene.
The most recent publicized rape case is that of a 17-year old girl, named Khadija, which also sparked outrage on social media in recent weeks.
The victim told Chouf TV that she was kidnapped and raped for two months. Her alleged rapists also tattooed her body against her will, although a supposed tattoo artist contradicted Khadija’s story.
Khadija’s alleged rape caught the attention of UNICEF.
In a statement made public September 5, UNICEF aimed to raise awareness about violence against Moroccan children in general, reminding the Moroccan government of its integrated child protection policy to protect children against sexual violence adopted in 2015.
The project, which is part of a mid-term evaluation of the National Plan of Action for Children 2006-2015, aims to create a healthy environment for children, safe from all forms of neglect, abuse, violence, and exploitation.
