Thread by @monaeltahawy

cw: vaw

Protests have been held in several cities in #Algeria to demand action to stop violence against women following the rape and murder of a teenager.

The charred body of Chaïma, 19, was found in a deserted petrol station in Thenia this month. bbc.com/news/world-afr…

There are also reports that the charred body of another woman was found in a forest overnight. #Algeria

Women held sit-in protests in #Algiers and #Oran, chanting Chaïma's first name and calling for an end to gender-based violence.

Activists also took to social media with the hashtag #JeSuisChaima (I am Chaïma). #Algeria

"This government offers no shelters or mechanisms to protect the victims from their torturers, this government says it has laws, but in reality women are asked to forgive their aggressor, be it their brother or their father or whatever," one woman at the rally in Algiers said.

"Women file a complaint and wait three or four years for it to be resolved and for a judgement to be rendered. These are unacceptable conditions. Algeria is for Algerian men and women."

Chaïma's mother said the suspect had attempted to rape her daughter in 2016, when she was 15, but the case was dropped. Femicides Algeria group says 38 women have been killed in the country since start of 2020. They recorded 60 in 2019 but many such murders are unreported