Rabat – Morocco launched a campaign of “no tolerance” for violence against women on Wednesday and rights groups are calling for the government to take greater action.
The “Strength of Women” group, which is partly funded by the European Union, has drawn up a petition that it will present to Islamist premier Abdelilah Benkirane listing a number of demands.
There is a lot of violence taking place within marriages in the country and not much is being done about it.
It has however been noted that Moroccan women enjoy greater liberties than most other Muslims.
Women enjoy greater liberties in Morocco than in much of the rest of the Muslim world, but rights groups say violence, particularly within marriages, is largely ignored.
In a report published two years ago, the state planning commission (HCP) reported that 2.4 million Moroccan women over 18 had been subjected to sexual violence at some point in their lives, while 3.4 million women had suffered physical violence at least once.
More than 38 000 women have been raped in Morocco.
More than 50 percent of violence against women is thought to take place within marriage, and marital rape is not recognised as a crime.
Morocco is currently in the process of studying the law to combat violence against women, but the Islamist-led government has had to revise its proposals after sharp criticism from rights groups who say they lack clarity.
Prison sentences of up to 25 years for perpetrators of violence against women will be issued according to the bill.
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