Last week, two teenage girls, age 16 and 17, were taken into police custody in Marrakesh, Morocco after a photo of the girls hugging and kissing was taken by one of the girls’ cousins and passed on to one of the girls’ mothers. The girl’s mother then handed the photo over to the police.
Upon receiving said photo, the police immediately arrested the girls and placed them in jail. The girls were held for about three days in an adult prison and could face 6 months to 3 years if convicted.
L’Union Feministe Libre, an organization in Rabat Morocco, opposed the arrest and called on “human rights associations and Moroccan lawyers to end the series of arrests Moroccan Men and Women face on daily basis and the injustice we are now living in.”
The arrest also caught the attention of Human Rights Watch who have asked Morocco to revoke its law criminalizing consensual conduct between same-sex partners.
Though many have expressed their anger over the girls’ arrest through the hashtag #freethegirls on Twitter, it is likely the girls will be convicted.
Because of the prominence of religion in the daily life of Moroccans, there has been a large amount of negative emotions towards actions of homosexuality.
“It’s difficult and will take a lot of time,” said Larbi Elhabbache, Vice President of the Marrakesh chapter of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights. “We are not strong enough to force the country to change the laws.”
In an interview with the Washington Post, Elhabbache revealed that the girls are scheduled to be tried in court on November 27th.
To help free the girls, sign this petition on Change.org to call upon the UN to assist the cause.
