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The latest murder of a woman in Morocco has shocked the public opinion. Tortured, raped and killed in the middle of a street in the medina of Rabat, the violence was filmed and posted on Whatsapp. The rape and murder of yet another woman produced shock waves in the wake of the death sentence against the murderers of two Scandinavian female tourists who were killed and beheaded in Imlil on mount Toubkal.
The cases affecting women have led members of civil society to ask the minister of solidarity, women and family, Massima Hakkaoui to step down in a petition sent to the head of government.
In the latest case in Rabat, Hanane, 34, was raped, tortured and left to die in a street of the medina, in the district of mellah in the Jewish area. The violence dates back to June but the video of the torture endured by the victim has just been released. Her killer appears in the video, a 50-year-old who now risks the death penalty. He is accused of first-degree murder as well as violence and torture and has been arrested together with eight accomplices who have been charged of, among others, failing to provide assistance, publishing the video of a murder, violence and drugs and alcohol use.
A similar case involved Khadija, a girl from Casablanca who was recently raped and tortured, with tattoos and scars across her body, or Zineb, 23, who was abducted by a gang and raped on a public bus in 2017. Also, this month, an 11-year-old boy was kidnapped and killed in Meknes. The case of Hanane, according to data provided by associations and NGOs, is only the tip of the iceberg as at least 14,000 women have reported being raped.
Minister Hakkaoui, who was elected in 2012, is the only woman minister. She has never commented on the cases. Legislation on violence against women in the country, which concerns the articles of law 101-13, became effective in September 2018.
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