Maysoon Jayyusi Casablanca – Raja Battaoui The numbers of reports in Moroccan police stations and cases in Moroccan courts related to rape foretell a huge catastrophe, according to human rights activists exposing deep gaps in Morocco's social structure that threaten the safety of women, families and all of society.
Most Moroccan cities over the past month have witnessed an increase in the number of reported rapes on women, with the holy month of Ramadan apparently failing to deter perpetrators.
Victims have included students, adolescents, senior citizens, single women in addition to those married and divorced. Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Morocco, Safi, Agadir, Tangier, El-Jadida, Quneitra, Sala, were all settings for rape crimes.
Physical security has reached a level of deterioration that has led most active organisations in society to warn that schools, summer resorts, hotels, administration offices, beaches, and parks have become scenes for the most heinous crimes.
The Federation of Democratic League for Women’s Rights (FLDDF) condemned attacks that violated Moroccan women and called on the government take full responsibility against crime.
They also called for alertness from civil society groups, saying women's rights and freedom were being targeted in a way that "threatened the democratic path in modern Morocco".
The union recorded two cases of rape in Safi alone, during the last week of Ramadan. The first involved a young woman headed to work in the morning when the perpetrator took advantage of the empty street, raised a knife in her face and threatened to kill her if she did not accompany him. When she refused to comply, he beat her profusely, and dragged her into a bushy area where he raped her and released her.
The second girl was raped by a former convict when he stood in her way and led her by force to one his friends’ houses where they took turns raping her.
In Tangiers, a criminal raped 13 women in 1960 including an adolescent, elderly ladies and married women. In Agadir, a then-recently released criminal raped more than 20 women, and kidnapped and threatened others with knives.
A criminal in Casablanca invaded a house this Ramadan, raped a young woman and then stole some of her belongings and escaped. The third day of the same month witnessed a violent rape in Saraghina which left a 20 year old victim dead after severe bleeding in her genitals in addition to bruises. She was taken to hospital by some of the residents after she was found lying in a deserted area in a critical condition after being raped by the owner of a bike.
The federation said that “the law alone cannot solve this problem".
"Most criminals convicted of rape were prosecuted previously for the same crime. But as soon as they are out of prison they look for another victim to assault, knowing that the judiciary tackles rape cases with great lenience and considers it merely a misdemeanour, with most perpetrators getting a temporary release.”
The head of the FLDDF, Fawziya Al-Asouli, said that for most of those imprisoned for specific periods in rape cases, prison was "like a hotel where they enjoyed the best meals provided by their families who are in normal contact with them".
"They would even consume drugs and alcohol when possible while the victim remains in a real prison after society isolates her or she is forced into prostitution," she said.
Sociologist Fouad Belmir added: “The increase of rape incidents even in Ramadan tells of growing sick behaviour within some Moroccans. They are also evidence of the prevalence of a culture of physical gratification and various problems in Moroccan society. Among the most important manifestations of this disruption is how many of its members parted with its religious reference, traditions, values, and basic humanity".