<p>Women in Morocco and accross the globe have reacted with revulsion and horror after a state run TV channel showed viewers how to mask the physical signs of domestic abuse and &ldquo;carry on with your daily life.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The tutorial, which aired during the channel&rsquo;s daily &ldquo;Sabahiyat&rdquo; program, was broadcast last Wednesday &#8211; just two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. ;</p>
<p>In response, hundreds of women signed a petition demanding that the TV station apologize. The petition also called for sanctions against 2M. ;</p>
<p>The station attempted a weak defense on Facebook, writing that the tutorial was &ldquo;completely inappropriate and has an editorial error of judgment in view of the sensitivity and the gravity of the subject of violence against women.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Violence against women is a serious problem in Morocco, and despite amendments made in 2004 to the nation&rsquo;s &ldquo;Family Code,&rdquo; domestic violence is not considered illegal. Moroccan lawmakers passed a bill addressing the issue in March, but the legislation ultimately failed to make a difference. ;</p>
<p>After more than &ldquo;ten years of human and material resources invested in this effort by different international, governmental and NGO actors, I don&rsquo;t know how much money spent, how many conferences, how many roundtables, how many training workshops, this draft law does not&hellip;respond to the voiced needs of women victims of violence in Morocco,&rdquo; argues Stephanie Willman Bordat, founder of Mobilizing for Rights Associates. ;</p>
<p>One of the bill&rsquo;s largest failures is that it does not criminalize marital rape, an issue that arises in arranged marriages. ;</p>
<p>In March, an anonymous Moroccan woman told <em>Newsweek</em> that the rapes and beatings began shortly after her arranged and forced marriage. &ldquo;The whole time I just thought about killing myself,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;There is no law that will help me sue my husband for the things he did. So he always gets away with it.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Despite backwards legislation like this, Morocco is often cited as one of the <em>most progressive</em> Muslim nations in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. This is just one more example of why the Muslim culture simply cannot coexist with America&rsquo;s ideals of freedom, civil rights, and democracy. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Parts of the Islamic world are unimaginably oppressive to women. Morocco has always been considered a more moderate brand of Islam, and a place where it is safe and fun to take a vacation.  ;But make no mistake they genuinely think differently from us.</p>