Posted on August 14, 2019

Young Women Flee Morocco After Being Threatened with Beheading for Wearing Shorts

Lottie Tiplady-Bishop, The Sun, August 10, 2019

THREE teenage girls have fled Morocco after a local schoolteacher said he wanted their “heads cut off” for wearing shorts.

The girls were volunteering to help build a road in the village of Adar when the teacher, who has since been arrested, made the vile comments.

He posted on social media that the young women were “not respecting the Muslim faith” and said he wanted to teach them a “lesson,” before threatening them with beheading.

The teacher was arrested on Monday and will be prosecuted for “incitement to terrorist acts,” Moroccan police said.

The girls were part of a group of nearly 40 young people on a summer volunteering trip run by the Bouworde organisation, which said it was cancelling all camps in Morocco as a result of the incident.

“We have been advised not to send new groups to Morocco,” it said in a statement.

“We will follow this advice and we have decided to cancel all the following camps in Morocco.”

OUTRAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Moroccan authorities have offered to repatriate any volunteers who felt unsafe but as yet, only the three women have chosen to leave.

The case has sparked a huge reaction in the majority Muslim country, with furious Moroccans speaking out against the hateful teacher’s absurd comments.

A demonstration in shorts is planned on a beach in Casablanca — launched by the Facebook group, Yes we Short, following another “Everyone in shorts” petition that collected more than 1,000 signatures.

Despite safety fears, the girls in questions say they have enjoyed their time in Morocco.

One of the Belgian girls, named in French media as Luna, said: “All the population is very kind.

“They are always friendly and they always say hello and how are you, and what is your name.

“I really love it here. I am really happy that I came here.”

She added: “This is such a lovely country and everything here is very cool.”