Moroccan feminist blogs demand action following the death of a teenager who underwent a  clandestine abortion.

The death of a 14-year-old girl, Meriem, has triggered numerous online and offline protests, calling for reform in Morocco’s abortion laws. Feminist-led blogs have organized rallies in the streets  of the country and created petitions to push for change. A protest of Moroccan women  and men was held outside the parliament building in Rabat on September 28th, on the  occasion of international safe abortion day. With “You can’t ban abortion; you can only ban  safe abortion”, and “No uterus No opinion” written in bold letters on cardboard signs, the  protesters kickstarted their rally in the capital city.  

Meriem, the 14-year-old Moroccan girl, died during a clandestine abortion that took place in  the house of the man who sexually exploited her. Under the country’s strict laws, abortion is  only permitted when the pregnant woman’s life is at high risk. Abortions performed  under any other circumstances are punishable by six months to five years in prison. According  to The Moroccan Association for the Fight against Clandestine Abortion (AMLAC), up to 800  women undergo clandestine abortions every day in Morocco. An alarming number that  frightens Moroccan feminists who have been pushing for a change in the country’s penal code  for years. 

Change is now

Yasmina Benslimane, the founder of the feminist youth-led blog politics4her, took to the page’s  instagram and asked her followers to join the online movement and to sign a petition calling for  the legalization of abortion in the cases of “rape, incest, and threats to health”. Under the petition, Benslimane asks for “the abolishment of the provisions related to abortion in the  country’s Penal Code. Article 453 criminalizes abortion, except in cases where the mother’s  life is at risk”.

She adds “In such cases, abortion can be legally practiced, but with the  husband’s permission. Abortion should become a public service for women to benefit from  whenever the pregnancy poses a threat to their physical, psychological, mental or social  health”. The petition is only 230 signatures away from reaching its goal, which will allow it to  be picked up by the media and local newspapers. 

Politics4her aims to end clandestine abortion in Morocco, and Benslimane is determined to  educate Moroccan women on their own reproductive health rights “Whether abortion is legal  or not, it is still happening, and it is affecting those who don’t have the means” Benslimane says.  “People say it is a fight of the bourgeoisie, which is not true, because people who have money  can just go abroad or do it at a clinic and pay the doctors, those that are most affected by the  fight for abortion are the ones that have less means ».

Benslimane , says promoting active participation of young women in Moroccan politics  and fighting for abortion rights cannot be achieved without providing educational programs  that tear down gender stereotypes. To normalize these discussions, politics4her launched  their Women4leadership project in September, in which they trained a group of young women  in Morocco on sexual reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexual education, and gender based violence. 

Benslimane explains: “The lack of access to sexual education and to sexual  reproductive health and rights like abortion is a huge barrier for women just to get access to  education or higher education », the young feminist continues, » a lot of young girls drop out of  school because they get pregnant or they get their period, there is this lack of knowledge in  Morocco about women’s own rights and adding to it there are penal codes that are very archaic and outdated that need to adapt to our new constitution”. 

In 2011, Morocco implemented a constitution that ensures gender equality in social and  workspaces. However, many of the country’s penal codes do not align with the principles of  this constitution.  

As a political science undergrad, Benslimane realized that the field was male dominated, and  that politics were mainly associated with corruption, money and greed. To encourage the  participation of women in politics and to break down stereotypes, she created Politics4her  in 2017. 

“I wanted to change this distorted vision by showing that women should be part of the  fights for a more equal political world, and leadership roles” she says. “The reason why I took  it to the digital space is because we witnessed, for example, during the Arab uprising in 2011,  that young people were extremely active online and that digital technologies enable real life  positive change ».

Onto a safer and better future for Moroccan women  

Politics4her is not the only feminist-led blog that advocates for women’s rights in Morocco. In  the last few years, the country witnessed an increase in social media pages that educate  young Moroccans on several topics. Zineb Ramiche, a 23-year-old PHD student, decided to join the  movement as a co-owner of the Instagram page, bentdarhoum, described as a community  that aims to empower and support unconventional women in Morocco. “I wanted to be part of  the community, a safe space where women can share their stories and their opinions,” says Ramiche. “You can say that bentdarhoum is a form of “women sorority” and I think we need that”, she continues.  

In Moroccan Arabic, the label “bentdarhoum” is often given a young girl who stays at home,  and firmly follows her parents’ guidelines. Bentdarhoum is also used as a way to separate the  “good girl” from the “bad girl”. This term, inherited from previous generations, promotes the  idea that associates outspoken women, who occupy public spaces, with rebellion. 

Although Moroccan women are now more liberated, gender stereotypes and misogynistic  ideas are still highly present in the society.  

For Zineb, joining the team of bentdarhoum is only a first step. “Online blogs dedicated to  women’s rights in Morocco open doors for discussion. I see more and more women talk about  rape and women’s place in society, and I am happy to see that. However, in my opinion these  blogs are often created by a certain class of women. Most of them are either in French or  English, and I feel like there is still a class of women that we have not reached yet” says the  23-year-old.  

To reach a larger audience, Zineb and her co-admin Houda, are considering the idea of  posting content in Moroccan Arabic “writing in Arabic will take us more time as opposed to  French and English, because we still need to find the right translation for terms like “feminism”  and “masculinity”” says Zineb. “Once we are able to find the right terms, or if we find someone  who can join us and help, then we will definitely start posting in our native language”, she continues. 

Feminist youth-led blogs continue to grow in Morocco, and the discussion surrounding  women’s rights is reaching bigger audiences. These young Moroccan women who dedicate  their time and career to advocate for female empowerment have been able to break  stereotypes and educate many girls on their own rights. The fight for the legalization of  abortion in Morocco is still ongoing, and young Moroccan feminists are not planning to back down until the laws change. 

Cet article a été écrit dans le cadre du cours Web Journalism en Décembre 2022.

Rime Benomar

Crédit photo de une : ReedNaliboff sur Unsplash