Moroccan Television Station Apologizes for Piece on Makeup for Battered Wome

A Moroccan public television station has apologized to its viewers after running a segment demonstrating the application of makeup to cover the bruises of battered women. Despite the station’s apparent good intentions – the offensive segment aired as part of a special dedicated to International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – viewers found the piece offensive. In one illustration, a woman with a face swollen from an apparent beating demonstrated the application of green and yellow colors followed by a cosmetic foundation. The announcer reportedly made it clear that the woman was an actress applying “cinematic effects” and not a victim, and that the exercise was to show what battered women can do in order to “continue with their daily lives and go to work.” But the social media community thought otherwise and unleashed a social media torrent against the station. The AFP news agency reported that a recent study revealed that “two-thirds of Moroccan women have been physically, psychologically, sexually or economically abused.”