[View the story "#RIPAmina " on Storify ]#RIPAmina Netizens mourn after a Moroccan girl who was forced to marry her rapist commits suicide. Storified by The Stream · Tue, Mar 13 2012 17:09:39
trendsmapAminaAJstream
#RIPAmina is gaining traction following the suicide of a young girl, Amina from Larache, Morocco. According to
online reports , Amina was raped by a man 10 years her senior a year ago. Following an agreement between her family and a civil court Amina was forced to marry her rapist, which protected him from any criminal charges according to Moroccan penal code.
The snapshot below highlights Article 475 from Moroccan law which decrees that anyone who rapes a female minor, under the age of 18, will receive immunity from criminal charges as long as they marry the minor.
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Women's rights groups in Morocco, like Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles (MALI), have been vocal in their opposition against Article 475.
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MALI issued the following press release on March 8, also International Women's Day, to protest Moroccan law.
Etat! Tu nous violesMouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles الحركة البديلة من أجل الحريات الفردية Mali ? Qu'ai-je de différent ? مالي؟ آش درت لي...
Netizens took to Twitter in droves, sharing news of Amina's suicide.
Background: Amina, a 16 year old Moroccan girl, committed suicide by ingesting poison after being forced to marry her rapist. #RipAminaBassem Sabry
Link also says #Amina ingested poison, that her "husband" rushed her to her father's house, that he kept beating her on the way. #RipAminaBassem Sabry
More netizens expressed their outrage about the circumstances leading to her death.
#RIPAmina To marry a rapist is a sacrilege, to be forced to marry a rapist is a crime, to marry your own rapist is evil incarnate.Moein
What kind of honor do u seek to save when u punish ur daughter because she got raped, instead of supporting her? SHE is ur honor. #RIPAminaIman
L'arabe monde a beaucoup de Amina malheureusement. :'( #RIPAminaSalma Hegab
Translation: The Arab World has many Amina's unfortunately.
Ca fait une éternité que ce genre de choses m'horrifie mais il aura fallu qu'Amina se suicide pour que ça touche la masse... #RIPAminaLayla Belmahi
Translation: It's been an eternity since these kinds of things have horrified me but it took Amina's suicide for it to reach the masses.
#Ripamina 16 ans : violée, mariée puis suicidéeMarouane HARMACH
Translation: 16 years old: raped, married and committed suicide.
Some netizens were pointedly critical of Morocco's judicial system:
#RIPAmina I wonder if the judge who forced her to marry her rapist would rule the same for his daughters.Hamna
Vous voulez une fille qui ne veut pas de vous pour la vie ? Violez-la dans un coin et le tribunal marocain la fera votre épouse. #RIPAminaYoussef Roudaby
Translation: You want a girl who does not want you for life? Rape her in a corner and the Moroccan tribunal will make her your wife.
Some expressed a more critical stance of Islam.
#RIPAmina. What a disaster. Look at what the wrong perspective of Islam leads to. I bet there are hundreds of similar stories....Luai Ahmed
Hate when 'Muslim' countries make laws which are clearly unislamic. No punishment for rapist if he agrees to marry? Ridiculous. #ripaminaHamna
Sparked by Amina's suicide, some tweeted online solidarity for survivors of rape.
#RIPAmina - Honoring today all women who have been punished for having been raped when it should be their aggressor who should be dead.Iman
A toute la twittoma, et autre, hissons le #RIPAmina en TT mondial, au nom de toutes les femmes violées et forcées d'épouser son violeur ...Mims Wabs Larax
Translation: To all of Twitter and others, let's make #RIPAmina a global trending topic, in the name of all women who have been raped and forced to marry their rapist.
Moroccan rapper, The Tilass, dedicated one of his music videos to women experiencing abuse or in forced marriages.
The TILASS Ta3iyalte (clip officiel)thetilass
