Al Arabiya reported this morning that a 16-year-old Moroccan girl killed herself after a judge ordered her to marry her rapist.
The girl, Amina, was forced to marry a 26 year old as a way of "resolving" the damage the attack did to her honor and that of her family. Moroccan law also exempts rapists from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim.
Her new husband's family was reportedly unfriendly towards the young girl. In the end, she took rat poisoning, ending her life.
The story is widely reported in Morocco and has angered activists online, some using the Twitter hashtag #RIPAmina, who demand action against the judge who issued the ruling. Unfortunately, the story has gotten no coverage in the West, especially in comparison to the coverage of the story a few months back about the Afghan girl who was forced to marry her rapist. In that case, Hamid Karzai ended up intervening. After media coverage died down, however, she too married her rapist.
Forcing a girl to marry her rapist disgusts me. I can't even describe how reading those stories made me feel. The psychological trauma of the attack ends up becoming the girls' life, trapped forever with a man who has no respect or feelings for her.
I hope Moroccan activists don't let Amina's story fade and maintain pressure on the powers-that-be to change this situation.
The girl, Amina, was forced to marry a 26 year old as a way of "resolving" the damage the attack did to her honor and that of her family. Moroccan law also exempts rapists from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim.
Her new husband's family was reportedly unfriendly towards the young girl. In the end, she took rat poisoning, ending her life.
The story is widely reported in Morocco and has angered activists online, some using the Twitter hashtag #RIPAmina, who demand action against the judge who issued the ruling. Unfortunately, the story has gotten no coverage in the West, especially in comparison to the coverage of the story a few months back about the Afghan girl who was forced to marry her rapist. In that case, Hamid Karzai ended up intervening. After media coverage died down, however, she too married her rapist.
Forcing a girl to marry her rapist disgusts me. I can't even describe how reading those stories made me feel. The psychological trauma of the attack ends up becoming the girls' life, trapped forever with a man who has no respect or feelings for her.
I hope Moroccan activists don't let Amina's story fade and maintain pressure on the powers-that-be to change this situation.
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