Rabat – Police arrested a 47-year-old man suspected of physically assaulting his wife and killing her on Wednesday in Tiflet, a city near Morocco’s capital Rabat.
Preliminary investigation shows that the suspect attacked his 40-year-old wife with a sharp object, which resulted in her death.
A statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said that investigations are underway to determine the circumstances and motives of the case.
Rigorous security operations made it possible to arrest the suspect, who is now in custody for further investigations, the DGSN added.
The murder comes amid a reported increase in domestic violence across Morocco.
The High Commission for Planning (HCP) recently shared alarming figures related to domestic violence. In a report published in September, the HCP said that 52% of women and girls experienced domestic violence in 2019. The main perpetrators of the violence are family members or marital partners.
The rate of marital violence increased by 46% between 2009 and 2019, with 5.3 million women aged between 15 and 74 experiencing violence from their partners.
The perpetrators are mainly boyfriends, husbands, ex-husbands, or romantic partners, the HCP found.
In response to the increase in domestic violence and gender-based discrimination, Moroccan public and private actors vowed strict measures against the phenomena.
Recently, the Moroccan NGO Tahadi Association for Equality and Citizenship (ATEC) announced the launch of the “Stop Digital Violence” application to fight violence against women and girls.
The application will help women to file complaints through their phones and provide them with the numbers to call in case of a violent attack.
“Since we are in Casablanca, the app will also help women outside the city to file complaints. It is also for women who do not prefer to come to the headquarters personally to speak about their cases. They can download the app and file their complaint, which we will deal with while preserving the secrecy of the victim’s file,” president of ATEC Bouchra Abdou recently told MWN.
