Recently a girl in Morocco killed herself. Now this happens everyday, and is awful already. Suicide is something I am sure I will talk about a lot, it is something very connected in my life. But the reason that this 16 year old girl killed herself is appalling. Amina Al Filali was raped at the age of 15, and some sources said beaten also, and then forced to marry the man that abused her. After the marriage the abuse continued, and Amina killed herself by swallowing rat poison on Saturday.
I for one am appalled that things like this are happening. Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code "allows for the ‘kidnapper’ of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution, and it has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman’s family."
So instead of being punished for this awful crime against a young girl, the rapist marries her for the honor of the family. Now I understand that family honor is important in some cultures but what about the girl? Does she not have rights? A lot of people online are outraged by this, and justly so. There is even a petition to get the law changed. Its in french but not to hard to understand. If any of you are as sickened by this as I am then I urge you to sign the petition and tell your friends about it, so that this never happens again.
Rest in Peace Amina, I am so sorry that you had to suffer this way.
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