The Moroccan "kiss-in" to support three teenagers arrested for posting a picture of kissing on Facebook had only a few dozen brave attendees, but organizers said the recent event in Rabat still sent a message, France 24 reported.
After a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were shown kissing in a Facebook photo, they and their 15-year-old male friend, who took the photo outside their school in the northern town of Nador, were arrested, charged with "violating public decency" and held in a juvenile facility. They were released on bail and are awaiting trial.
The incident sparked protests from social media as young people posted dozens of pictures of themselves kissing in support of the teenagers, captioning them: "Now you can arrest me." #FreeBoussa ("free kiss" in Arabic) trended on Twitter, Aljazeera reported.
While more than 2,000 people indicated online that they would attend the "kiss-in," just a few dozen actually showed up to the gathering outside parliament.
"For us, the message got through. It was a success," said Ibtissam Lachgar, one of the organizers. "There were couples and single people, and the couples were not embarrassed in public.
"Our message is that they are defending love, the freedom to love and kiss freely," she said.
Morocco is usually seen as one of the most liberal in the Muslim world, but the incident shows its deeply conservative roots. Counter-protestors attended the "kiss-in" as well, shoving the activists and throwing chairs at them.
"If it was my daughter, I would have killed her," Batoul Sidaoui, a 56-year-old in Tangier, said. "We are not in France here. It's not our culture to do these things."
The kissing controversy also brought to light some weak spots in Moroccan law.
Twenty-eight-year-old Nizar Bennamate, who was at the kiss-in, said he "believe[s] that laws should help manage conflicts among society. It also should protect Moroccans. But this law used to go after the kids in Nador is very vague."
Bennamate was referring to Article 484 of the Moroccan Penal Code, which sets a jail term of two to five years for any indecent act with a minor; and Article 483, which mandates a prison sentence of one month to two years for any act of public obscenity, according to Aljazeera.
"This arrest could only be justified if the minors were a real danger to society," said Soukaina Benchekroun, a trainee lawyer in Casablanca. "A simple kiss, even repeated, cannot justify the placement of a juvenile in a correctional facility."
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