Moroccan Woman Murdered in Front of Her Children in Spain

Tantan – Ouardia El Moussaouri, a 43-year-old Moroccan woman, was brutally murdered by her husband in front of her three children on Monday, the day of Eid Al Fitr, in the Spanish city of Tarancon.

After stabbing Ouardia to death, the 38-year-old husband turned himself in to Spanish federal police and confessed his crime.

The police arrived at the family home where they found the body of the victim and found her three young children. The police took the children to the social services of Tarrancon’s Women’s Center.

According to Spanish news outlets, Ouardia had filed two police complaints against her husband for domestic violence. The first was in 2016, but Ouardia withdrew it and rejected the protective measure offered to her by the authorities.

In 2019, Ouardia filed a second complaint against her husband, which led to a restraining order prohibiting him from approaching Ouardia.

The restraining order was active until April, 2022, when the Criminal Court of Tarancon revoked the protection measure after Ouardia forgave her husband and the couple returned to live together.

Tarancon’s Delegate for Equality Luna Lourdes, who knew Ouardia personally, said that there were no problems between the couple at the beginning of their marriage and that issues arose later on.

According to Lourdes, Ouardia used to pay frequent visits to the Women’s Center, not only due to the violence of her husband, but also to look for job opportunities.

Ouardia worked in gardening in a city council employment plan.

More than 300 people organized demonstrations in Tarancon denouncing the gruesome crime and demanding justice against the reoccurring violence against women.

Councilor for Equality in the Government of Castilla-La Mancha Blanca Fernandez has also condemned the brutal murder of Ouardia, recalling that the Moroccan victim is the region’s fourth woman murdered by sexist violence this year.

Fernandez encourages women to speak up and seek help from police or social services when faced with violence.

Commenting on the crime, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences and support for the children and family of the victim on his official Twitter account. “We must stop gender based crimes and end structural violence against women.”

Ouardia’s family and friends have asked for financial support and donations to repatriate her body to Morocco. A Tarancon court will facilitate bureaucratic procedures for the transfer of the body.