The gang rape of a child during a famous festival in Morocco shocked the Moroccan kingdom this August. The case sparked significant reactions, as sexual assault is already a major topic of debate in the country. Several organizations are calling on the authorities to respond and denouncing the prevailing conservatism that is preventing reforms.

In early August, the town of Moulay Abdellah Amghar, located on the Atlantic coast, hosted one of Morocco's largest moussems. A traditional festival that attracts up to four million visitors.

Among those present this year is a 13-year-old boy, Bashir. Originally from a southern city, Youssoufia, he is an orphan and his mother suffers from disabilities. He must therefore fend for himself to earn money. Usually, he sells bags and helps cars park. Given the importance of Moulay Abdellah Amghar's moussem, he went there.

It was on this occasion that Bashir was allegedly drugged and raped by 14 young men in a tent, several Moroccan media outlets report.

“What we saw at the hospital was very painful.”

Bashir, who initially tried to reach Youssoufia, was only examined by doctors on his way back, as people had become concerned about the young boy's alarming state of health. He was hospitalized in Marrakech, and medical examinations confirmed that he had been raped. Bashir nevertheless managed to describe several of his rapists, which led to the arrest of five suspects, some of whom were minors.

Several human rights and children's rights groups have since mobilized to defend Bashir by filing civil suits or appealing to the government. On Moroccan social media, a hashtag, #AllForBashir, began to trend. “What we saw at the hospital was very painful. Any negligence or delay in handling this case will be interpreted as a betrayal of the victim, his family, and society as a whole,” Hamid Raudi, coordinator of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) for the Youssoufia region, told the newspaper Yabibladi.

Sexual violence: a controversial subject for Moroccan society

If Bashir's rape has provoked such a reaction, it is not only because of the seriousness of the crime, but also because Moroccan society is notoriously affected by the problem of child sexual abuse, as several studies attest.

Underage marriage is also a regular topic of debate in Morocco. In theory, the legal age for marriage is 18, but exceptions may be allowed. At the end of 2024, under pressure from civil society, the government proposed reforming the Moudawana – the Family Code – so that these exceptions would no longer be granted for children under 17, compared to 15 years previously.

The associations also denounce several weaknesses in the Moroccan Penal Code, notes Telquel magazine. While Article 486 classifies sexual penetration committed against a woman or minor without consent as rape, Article 485 considers this type of sexual assault to be an "indecent assault," not rape, when it involves "persons of either sex." Since Bashir is a boy, his case falls under Article 485, Telquel points out.

Systemic conservatism

These legal loopholes are regularly denounced by human rights associations, but they face significant resistance from conservative circles, notes Libération.

Since Islam is the state religion, any change to the Moudawana must be approved by theologians grouped within the Council of Ulema. These clerics have thus rejected several reform proposals relating to this subject, on the pretext that it would be contrary to Sharia law. For example, they rejected the total abolition of polygamy in the country, believing that the Quran authorized it.

This conservatism is also found within a segment of the population. The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) deplored in a statement the comments on social media minimizing the severity of Bashir's rape. The organization also reiterated its call for a redefinition of rape to include all victims, regardless of their gender.