Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist

A 16-year-old Moroccan girl has reportedly killed herself after a judge ordered her to marry the man that raped her.

The teen, known only as Amina, ate rat poison after the Tangier judge ruled that her 26-year-old rapist could marry her instead of going to jail, according to the Moroccan publication al-Massae.

The ruling came after Amina's family asked the court to punish the man. The paper said that Amina committed suicide at the home of her husband's family.

Under Moroccan law, a rapist may be exempted from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim. Local tradition holds that forcible marriage protects the honor of the woman who is raped.

Women’s Solidarity Association director Hafida Elbaz has called for the penal code to be updated so that rapists cannot avoid sanctions.

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