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Rabat – COVID-19’s impact on Moroccan women has made them more vulnerable to financial instability and violence, Oxfam Morocco said.
Despite great progress in the area of women’s rights in the country, violence against women persists. According to Oxfam, Morocco witnessed a clear regression in terms of gender equality and women’s rights as violence against women increased amid the pandemic.
“There is an alarming rise in violence against women during the past months, especially physical, psychological, sexual, economic and domestic ones, related mainly to the economic insecurity of families worsened by the quarantine period,” said Oxfam Morocco in a statement.
Oxfam added that inequality between women and men is both the cause and effect of the different forms of violence against women and girls.
Under the slogan “We will not be silent, and we don’t accept violence,” the organization is calling for building more equal and resilient societies to emerge from this crisis and achieve an equal future.
This year, the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 16 Days of Activism coincides with the celebration of Oxfam’s 30 years in Morocco. During this period, a series of activities will be organized as part of this campaign. The British NGO will additionally publish a report on “violence against amid the global pandemic.”.
A survey by Mobilising for Rights Associates, an NGO working to promote women’s rights, also revealed a rise in violence against women and girls during the pandemic. They found that one in four women suffered from physical violence between May and April 2020, a time where the pandemic was at its peak and allowed no one out of their homes.
Read Also: Increase in Gender Violence, Long Way Ahead for Women’s Rights in Morocco
Another report by the Higher Planning Commission in Morocco, an independent government statistical institution, noted that about 25% of Moroccans experienced gender-related conflicts with the people with whom they have been confined.
The year 2020 came with serious concerns of a possible increase in violence against women due to state mandated quarantine.
But in July of this year, Morocco’s General Directory of National Security (DGSN) reported a decline of 11% in violence against women in 2020 compared to 2019.
In 2020, women represented a little more than half (50.2%) of the country’s population, meaning 18,045,000 female citizens, compared to 15,039,000 in 2004.
