HUMAN RIGHTS: Amina Filali: The Face of Violence Against Women in Morocco

HUMAN RIGHTS: Amina Filali: The Face of Violence Against Women in Morocco

by | Mar 27, 2012 | Human Rights, Motherhood, Women's Rights, World Motherhood, World Voice

Morocco demonstration

Demonstrations in Morocco after the suicide of Amina Filali

Amina Filali was only 16 years old when she took her own life by swallowing rat poison.  Her story has caused an outpouring of outrage and support from far beyond her small town in northern Morocco.  According to reports, Amina was raped last year at the age of 15 by an older man.  Instead of seeing her rapist punished for his crime, Amina was forced to marry him. A few months into an unconscionable marriage, her rapist/ husband was beating her, she told her mother. Her mother counseled her to try and bear it, according to the Moroccan daily al-Massa.  Amina must have seen no way out, no future worth living. (more…)

Jennifer Prestholdt (USA)

Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.

As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!

In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.

You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.

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