Homosexuals in Morocco are vulnerable to attacks and harassment

Homosexuals in Morocco are the subject of a wave of attacks and harassment after they published images taken from gay chat sites on the Internet.

And these images were released after one of the influences on social media asked his followers to open fake accounts on those chat sites to discover the extent of homosexuality in Morocco.

The law reportedly prohibits homosexuality in Morocco, which is witnessing a state of closure due to the spread of the Corona virus.

Activists say the closure means homosexuals cannot leave their homes when they are assaulted by family members.

Moroccan media recently released a report talking about a student who returned to France from the country during the shutdown, committed suicide after the news of his sexual orientation broke out.

Three gay organizations in Morocco told the BBC that they are being abused and harassed, and that their lives are in danger after the photos were released.

Samir El Mouti runs a Facebook page called “Moroccan Gay Community”, a page that advises and supports gay people. Many of these people reportedly try to hide their tendencies.

Moti, who left Morocco to study for a doctorate in Britain, says the number of people complaining of harassment and abuse has increased dramatically after the images were released.

A man called the page and said “he feels he’s dead.”

“I am facing a big problem,” he said in an intervention. “Everyone knows that I am gay and that my neighbor is sexually harassing me, so I decided to escape.”

“But I have nowhere to go, especially during the shutdown.”

The gay scandal began when influential bisexual model Sophia Taloni used Instagram to urge Moroccan women to open fake accounts on gay chat apps.

The purpose of this, Taloni said, is to help these women discover the number of men using these apps, including “their husbands and brothers.”

She said her goal is to expose the hypocrisy that prevails in Moroccan society by revealing the number of men who secretly practice homosexuality in the country.

Many Moroccans are reported to use apps like Grainder as a method of private communication because gay associations and places where they can meet are legally prohibited in the country.

But activists are now urging these men to close their accounts to protect themselves.

But the images of the men quickly spread to other communication platforms, resulting in abuse and harassment.

According to the page managed by Mouti, Taloni herself has had the support of the gay community in Morocco in recent months.

The gay community in Morocco is reported to be constantly exposed to discrimination and violence, but the latest campaign coincides with the closing and advent of the month of Ramadan.

“It is a double-edged sword,” said Muti. “You may be close to a family that hates homosexuals. For the month of Ramadan, people think a lot about moral issues, leading to escalation within the same family.”

“Many people become supervisors of sins, expose homosexuals and invite them to repent,” he says.

Feminist organizations and how non-governmental organizations have also supported men whose secrets have been exposed.

The two organizations told the BBC that men who are forced to leave their homes as a result of the intimidation cannot find places to stay because the hotels are closed and because they need special permits to allow them to move between cities.

A feminist organization said those who could not leave their homes face “very difficult conditions” with their families.

Feminists filed a complaint against Taloni’s Instagram page with Graender and Facebook.

Facebook, the owner of Instagram, has canceled a Talonic account. The company told Reuters: “It is taking effective and proactive measures in the search for materials similar to this one.”

But victims of abuse and harassment cannot expect any help from the police or the government, activists say.

“The law is not on their side, which makes the situation more dangerous because they cannot report crimes and seek police protection,” says Moti.

Human Rights Watch called on the Moroccan government to implement the right to privacy and revoke legal texts that criminalize same-sex sexual relations.

“Moroccan authorities must immediately intervene to protect the privacy of homosexuals and abolish legal texts against homosexuals, which can only fuel anti-gay sentiment and behavior,” the organization said in a statement released on Monday.

But my death says: “What we see now only at the tip of the iceberg, many people suffer in silence.” C.