Moroccan Activists Launch Campaign to Decriminalize Personal Freedoms

"Love is not a crime". This campaign is the first action of the 490 collective. Through a video and a statement made in three languages, the movement announces that it has filed a petition with Parliament to demand that all criminal offenses relating to individual freedoms be simply removed from the Penal Code.

Open to Internet users, the petition must collect at least 5,000 signatures to be taken into account. Officially launched in October, the movement says it has "received hundreds of testimonies attesting to the difficulty that Moroccans are experiencing because of these laws". It is therefore as a spokesperson that the collective is rising up so that the voice of those who cannot speak is heard. It wants to restore confidence to Moroccan youth who live in fear, because they are oppressed, writes Femmes du Maroc.

With figures to back it up, the collective explains that 14,503 people were prosecuted in 2018 for extramarital sexual relations. And, according to the Moroccan Association for the Fight against Clandestine Abortion (Amlac), 600 to 800 clandestine abortions are performed every day in Morocco.

To sign the petition, you need to create an account, have a national identity card and fill out an online form at http://bit.ly/3688viS.