The case comes amid growing calls for “morality” to be respected in Morocco
Five hundred lawyers registered to defend the two women, but because of restricted space in the courtroom, only 200 were able to attend the hearing.
Facing an arrest for wearing what they want to. While this may seem like a preposterous statement, this is what is actually happening in Morocco. And now, hundreds of lawyers have registered to defend two women who went on trial in Morocco on Monday accused of “gross indecency” for wearing dresses considered provocative, an activist said.
The women were arrested in the southern city of Agadir in mid-June after walking through a marketplace in dresses, sparking anger among passers-by in the conservative Muslim kingdom. The verdict is to be delivered on July 13, said Fouzia Assouli, head of women’s rights organisation LDDF.
The two women, hairdressers aged 23 and 19, were charged with “indecent exposure” for which they could face up to two years in prison. They have been backed by hundreds of lawyers, many of whom appeared in court on Monday. “Five hundred lawyers registered to defend the two women, but because of restricted space in the courtroom, only 200 were able to attend the hearing,” Fouzia told AFP.
One of them, Sibai Bakar, said the trial was a “chance for Morocco to amend its laws to conform with its commitments to human rights”.
In the police report, the women were said to have been wearing clothes that were “too tight”. Article 483 of Morocco’s penal code states that anyone found guilty of committing an act of “public obscenity” such as “gross indecency” can be jailed for between a month and two years. The case comes amid growing calls for “morality” to be respected in Morocco.
( Source : AFP )
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