Islamist government backs call to end marital abuse

At left, placard reads "Stop sexual abuse to preserve the dignity of women Violence amongst married women is ranked the highest form of aggression in Morocco.Despite putting pressure to criminalisethe act, women‘s rights believe that there still needs to be more awareness raised to put an end to it legally. According to an official from the Ministry of Women, Family and Social Development, Naima Benyahya says that Morocco is not strongly protected by law when it comes to marital violence.
“Morocco has had to get help from the international community for support to criminalise all acts of violence against women,” she said.
Banyaha confirmed that there was a committee organised to work on dossiers related to violence, and there are eight governmental representatives on board  to fight the issue. This is seen as a big step since the newly elected Islamist government came to power at the end of last year.  
There has been a free help line set up to protect those suffering from violence in the marital home.
Shelters can be provided for the victims and legal action can be also taken further if required.
Police support will also be included, enabling each individual’s case to be followed up.
The government has also set up a protection mechanism against marital violence all across the country.
Director for women’s shelters Fatima Maghnaoui says that setting up shelters in Morocco is a new national strategy to protect women against violence.  
She said “courage and conviction,” were the basic protection tools needed to set up this project.