Women’s rights threatened in Morocco as Salafists assault, strip woman for wearing skirt that was too short.

Women’s rights threatened in Morocco as Salafists assault, strip woman for wearing skirt that was too short.(BM).Women’s rights in Morocco have come under the spotlight recently after a young woman was assaulted in a Rabat market by people she called “Salafists,” or ultra-conservative Islamists. She said she was accosted by the men because of the short dress she was wearing. Other witnesses were reported by the Magharebia news portal as saying the girl was attacked with stones and beaten after the assailants said the dress was “too revealing.” 
Human rights and women’s organizations issued statements denouncing the assault on the Moroccan girl, during which she was stripped of her clothes entirely, reports indicated. Young Moroccan men and women turned to Facebook and online groups to call for protection of individual freedoms in Morocco, including the group “Débardeur and I am fine.” “Though this incident appeared in the media and gained wider attention, that does not mean it is not repeated on an almost regular or semi-daily basis in all the alleys and streets of our cities. It may not end in stripping the girl of her clothing, but the verbal and physical harassment that women may experience is sometimes more heinous and horrible,” said Nora Al-Fuari, an activist journalist at the Al-Sabah daily and a member of the Facebook group. “From here came the idea of creating this page on Facebook, which we made open to everyone, including those in hijab or niqab, or the ‘coarse’ males who share the same vision with us. The selection of Débardeur is just a symbol, in reference to freedom—the freedom of women to wear what they want. Débardeur was mother of the ‘short skirt’,” she added. “In the end, the body is her body and no one has the right to confiscate it.” Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane responded to the controversy by speaking out in defense of personal liberties. “I believe in freedom, God created us free,” the prime minister said. “Who is Benkirane to tell Moroccans to shave your beards or to impose the hijab? Individual liberties are sacred and are not to be touched,” he added. It has highlighted once again the growing conservative nature across the Middle East, which has women’s groups and women worried that they are being pushed aside and attacked due to their gender. Rights group Beit Al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) added its voice to the chorus of protest over the assault. The association said the attack on the young woman took place “under a government headed by an Islamic party, and this would block the move towards democracy, freedoms and the rule of law”. The group added that it was not just about the assault on the young woman, warning also of the consequences of remaining silent about what is happening in several cities under the cover of the “Popular Committees”, which acted to expel women they considered prostitutes, such as Al-Hajeb in the Ifrane region, and to demand closure of bars, as in Kenitra. The incident came immediately after a call by Abu Zeid, a Qur’an reciter and leading member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, for a day dedicated to “chastity and modesty”. He was joined by Salafist jihadist Sheikh Mohamed Fizazi.Read the full story here.