His face made the front page of the world press. Incarcerated since August 31 in Rabat, the journalist Hajar Raissouni could relaunch the debates on the individual freedoms of Moroccan women. Arrested for "debauchery" and "illegal abortion", the 28-year-old reporter has become, despite herself, the symbol of a control of morals deemed "obsolete" by a part of Moroccan civil society.
At the heart of this repressive legislation is the prohibition of abortion, except in case of danger to the health of the mother. The Moroccan Penal Code provides for up to two years in prison for those who, for the most part desperate, would have dared to call on an "angel maker".
An indefatigable activist, the gynecologist and president of the Moroccan Association for the Fight Against Clandestine Abortions (Amlac), Chafik Chraïbi, has been fighting for ten years to legally frame a "phenomenon that exists in fact and provokes dramas".
France 24: Do you think that an evolution of the law in access to abortion in Morocco is possible ?
The law will evolve, I am convinced. In 2016, a government bill provided for access to abortion in case of rape, incest, mental disorder of the pregnant woman or fetal malformation. But since then, the text had remained a dead letter. After the mobilization of associations, including ours, the bill should finally be voted in plenary during the next parliamentary session. It's good news. But will it be voted as it is? Other conditions could be added to the text and thus complicate access to abortion.
Moreover, this revision of the Penal Code still seems insufficient, all pregnancies are not related to rape or incest. A woman may want to have an abortion because she does not have the means to support her child's needs or because her couple is losing their wings ... There are many situations. So of course, we can not establish an exhaustive list because we will always find ourselves in a particular case.
What solution do you propose?
It would be enough to slightly modify Article 453 of the Moroccan Penal Code. This authorizes abortion only when the health, implied "physical", of the woman is in danger. But if we take the definition of WHO (World Health Organization), health is a "state of complete physical well-being but also mental and social". By adding this clarification in the article, many women could legally request an abortion. On the other hand, nobody would find anything wrong because we speak only of "health" and not of morale.
In our still very conservative society, being pro-choice means "debauchery". I would have liked to advocate for the right to abortion unconditionally, but I know it will not happen. The country does not seem ready for this yet. That is why, at first, I prefer to call for a relaxation of the law.
What is the number of clandestine abortions in Morocco ?
It is estimated that there are between 600 and 800 per day. Two thirds are practiced clandestinely by doctors and the remaining third by "makers of angels" or herbalists. All are done in deplorable conditions, that is to say, mostly in secret, in a closet, without good anesthesia or asepsis. These traditional methods cause women to have infections, haemorrhages or fetal malformations.
I see dramatic situations every day in my office. These abortions are also accompanied by prosecution for those who practice them. In 2018, 73 people were arrested.
The ban on abortion also leads to many children being abandoned.
Every day, 26 babies are abandoned. And again, this figure includes only those that could be identified. Others are killed, thrown in the street or buried without anyone knowing. Orphanages in Morocco are full of abandoned children. Then they put them back in the street, a few years later, for lack of space to keep them. The result is dramatic: we find children of seven or eight years left to themselves in the street. And these are not the only consequences.
The impossibility of abortion leads to suicide attempts by young girls, honor killings or - at best - expulsions from the parental home.
Is a case like the one of the journalist Hajar Raissouni, pursued in particular for "illegal abortion", can evolve mentalities, according to you ?
Of course. We need to educate people about the tragedies happening before our eyes. For my part, I try to publicize them as much as possible for the past ten years. In Morocco, many still think that favor means kill. But when these people see the consequences of such a ban, they finally understand our fight.
By the impact it provoked, the story of Hajar Raissouni could give a boost in the progressive struggle in Morocco.
>> To read also: "Illegal abortion": postponement of the trial of the Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni
Many intellectuals and members of civil society are already mobilizing to move the lines, as evidenced by the platform of 470 Moroccans and Moroccans "outlawed". It could be seen as a Moroccan version of the "manifesto of 343" published in 1971 in France. It must now be open to all segments of the population.