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Rabat – A video of a man beating a woman known as an influencer among her community of followers’ has stirred outrage and condemnation among internet users.
The video shows a man aggressively beating a woman, pulling her hair, and striking her with punches directed at her face.
The incident took place in Berrechid, a city near Casablanca.
The victim is Loubna Mourid, a content creator often described as an influencer by her followers.
With half a million followers on Instagram, Mourid shared videos of the attack caught by a surveillance camera in what appears to be a store.
The attacker locked the victim inside the store before viciously attacking her with strong punches toward Mourid. Behind the door, there were many people watching the incident.
While there are few details about what prompted the attack, some Facebook pages tackling gender discrimination said that she was assaulted due to her social media content.
7achak, a movement supporting women’s empowerment said that Mourid’s sister was also attacked on social media.
The movement said that both women received comments, establishing that Mourid “deserved what he faced because of her Instagram posts.”
On Wednesday, Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said that security services reached “with seriousness and speed” to the recording an act of “serious aggression committed by an individual on a woman inside a commercial store.”
DGSN’s statement established that security services had immediately notified the prosecutor’s office, who ordered a judicial investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.
The following investigation identified the man involved in the attack as a 23-year-old with a criminal record.
“A complaint has been filed by the woman who was the victim of forcible confinement and intentional bodily harm,” the statement said.
Police put the suspect in custody for further investigation to identify the circumstances of the case and identify all charges against the defendant.
In 2021, the High Commission for Planning (HCP) published a report on the situation of women in Morocco.
The report shared statistics from 2019, indicating that 57% of women have faced violence.
In public spaces, the prevalence of violence perpetrated against Moroccan women stood at 12.6%.
Morocco’s government continues to vow more efforts to tackle violence against women. However, the increase in gender violence shows that there is still a long way ahead to address the situation of Moroccan women facing violence.
