SlutWalk Morocco sends a message: don't rape

When Vancouver writer Joanna Chiu contacted me about plans for SlutWalk Vancouver, I knew it was worth covering.

Joanna wrote the first article in the local media. She followed it up with an exceptional piece describing what it was like to participate in the march, which sent a message that women shouldn't be sexually assaulted based on how they choose to dress.

The first SlutWalk was in Toronto on April 3. From there, these events spread around the world.

I just read about a Facebook page being formed in Morocco by those who want to bring the SlutWalk message to the North African country.

According to the globalvoicesonline website, one of the organizers put it this way:

[The SlutWalk movement] was a wake-up call for me. Growing up, I’ve never really understood why society kept teaching us the “don’t get raped” mentality instead of a “don’t rape” one, anchoring that way a never-ending victim blaming process of “she was asking/looking for it”.

I think it’s time to change this mentality, we’ve got to give a chance to the next generations to walk the Moroccan streets feeling SAFE & RESPECTED, a feeling Moroccan women are missing today.

It appears that the Arab spring isn't confined to just getting rid of nasty dictators—it's also about emancipation from other forms oppression.