Amal Association for Women and Development in the city of El Hajeb
Reveal the results of completed action research
Which is interested in files of violence against women
Written by Muhammad Al-Durahim
Within the framework of the project “Promoting Freedom from Gender-Based Violence in Morocco, Accountability and Advocacy” and in partnership with the Partners for Mobilization Women’s Organization, the Amal Association for Women and Development Al-Hajeb organized a round table devoted to presenting the results of field research on the topic: “Best practices in the authorities’ response Files of violence against women, consensual relationships outside of marriage,” on Friday, May 26, in the meeting hall of the municipality of El Hajeb.
During this round table, the results of the field research carried out on the topic “Protection instead of imprisonment: the contribution of the criminalization of sexual relations outside marriage to the rise in violence against women in Morocco” and the topic “Due diligence towards women victims of violence: best practices in the response of public authorities to violence committed against women ».
In a statement to MAP, the President of the Amal Association for Women and Development in El Hajeb, Hasna Allali, confirmed that this round table was organized in order to present the results of action research in which the Amal Association participated with a group of other national associations from Marrakesh, Taza, Larache, Agadir and Ouarzazate, so that the Amal Association for Women and Development in El Hajeb worked in these researches under the supervision of the Woman Organization Partners for International Mobilization by organizing several advisory and consultative meetings with those concerned with files of violence against women.
The first file that the association worked on, Hasna Allali says, is how articles 490 and 491 of the Criminal Code conflict with the application of the requirements of Law 103-13, and the second file concerns best and good practices in dealing with public authorities with files of violence against women.
As a methodology and strategy for the work, the President of Amal Association confirmed that there were a series of meetings with a group of actors to seek their opinion about the application of Law 103-13 and the obstacles they face in applying the criminal law, which concluded with the issuance of a set of conclusions and recommendations, the most important of which is the abolition of Chapters 490 and 491 Which constitute a stark contradiction to the realization of the human rights of women, given that the criminalization of extramarital relations opens a wide scope for punishing women who are not encouraged to report the chastity they are exposed to from within an extramarital relationship.
Parallel to this adds Hasna Al Alali. During this meeting, the most important good practices in the dealings of public authorities were presented since Law 103-13 entered into force until now, as there were a set of measures taken by the public authorities, especially during the quarantine period, where information was entered and communication was facilitated through platforms. Were there a set of measures The measures taken by the public authorities, especially during the quarantine period, to introduce information and facilitate communication through electronic platforms to enable women to report the violence they are subjected to, and other measures.
For her part, lawyer Hasnaa Alaoui of the Meknes Authority told MAP that women today have access to health fields in an easy way, and they have privileges and specific people who listen to them, in order to avoid the disturbance that occurs to them in the first confrontation with these devices, and to make them aware that She has rights that are exercised within a purely legal framework, namely Law 103-13, which greatly supported the legal privileges granted to women, which were interpreted during this round table.
As for the second topic, lawyer Hasnaa Al-Alawi adds, it was concerned with the requirements of the chapters that pertain to marital infidelity and corruption, noting that there are people who deliberately use these legal chapters first in order to put pressure on the partner (i.e. the husband or wife) or extortion, and these chapters are used inappropriately Legal, such as depriving women of defending their rights because they are faced with these requirements.