A video circulating on social media showing a man from an unnamed Gulf country calling on old men to travel to Morocco to marry underage girls has sparked widespread outrage, with many saying it promotes the exploitation of minors and could encourage child marriage and human trafficking.
The man used language that many saw as offensive and harmful to the dignity of Moroccan children and women, saying, “each of you older men, give him a 14-year-old girl and, I swear, he won’t have a stroke, high blood pressure, or diabetes.”
In a statement, Free Hands Association condemned what the man said on the video, stressing that the content explicitly promotes the exploitation of girls in Morocco under the pretext of marriage, including cases involving girls as young as 14.
The group said the content also undermines the dignity of girls and encourages practices that could amount to sexual exploitation and human trafficking, going against Morocco’s constitution and international commitments on child protection and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
It stressed that child marriage is a form of gender-based violence and a serious violation of children’s rights, depriving girls of education, healthcare, protection, and development, and exposing them to long-term psychological, social, and physical harm.
The association also rejected any discourse that treats underage girls as objects of exploitation, regardless of religious, social, or cultural justification.
The Dounia Coalition also condemned the same video, describing it as dangerous content that openly encourages the targeting of underage girls in Morocco and urges older men to travel to the country to seek relationships or marriages with girls as young as 14.
The coalition said such discourse amounts to incitement to human trafficking, normalizes exploitation, and undermines the dignity and rights of girls.
It called for the full abolition of child marriage in Morocco’s family code, saying current legal exceptions leave loopholes that allow the practice to continue.
It also urged stronger coordination between institutions, civil society, and media to counter such narratives and reinforce child protection efforts.
Matqich Weldi (Don’t Touch My Child) sent a letter to the Attorney General of His Majesty the King at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rabat over a video circulating online showing a foreign individual from an Arab country speaking with another person who appears to be a Moroccan running a marriage office.
The organization warned that it promotes the normalization of sexual exploitation of minors under the pretext of marriage.
It called for an urgent judicial investigation, legal action against those involved, and measures to deter any violations of children’s rights.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, child marriage authorization requests in Morocco rose in 2024 to 16,960 cases, up around 11% compared with 2023, an increase of 1,641 requests.
In 2024, public prosecutors in Morocco also filed 11,997 requests to reject child marriage applications, while only 637 requests requested approval.
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