‘Inappropriate’ Moroccan show encourages domestic violence victims to cover up bruises

A public television station in Morocco has apologised after it broadcast a programme teaching women how to cover up bruises from domestic violence with makeup.

The programme, called “Sabahiyate” and transmitted by 2M, was marking last week’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to “show the type of makeup to use when a woman has been hit.”

The host of the programme was then accompanied by a women depicted with a swollen face with bruising for “cinematic effects”.

“Green is applied with a brush to camouflage the reddish part,” the presenter applying makeup explains in the segment. The presenter then explained that the purpose behind the programme was to “provide solutions to women who need such advice so they can continue with their daily lives and go to work.”

Though the segment was initially broadcast on Wednesday last week, the show went viral on social media on Friday, provoking a storm of reactions before being removed.

“So 2M has decided to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with anti-bruise makeup!” one user wrote.

“Black eye? Bruising? No problem! 2M’s makeup artist has a miracle product!” another user commented online.

The channel released a statement today following the segment, calling the broadcast sequence “completely inappropriate”, and offered its “most sincere apologies” for the error and the “sensitivity and seriousness of the subject”.

Human Rights Watch has previously criticised the common levels of violence against women in Morocco. In a study between 2009 and 2010, almost two-thirds of Moroccan women were found to have suffered physical, psychological, sexual or economic abuse with some 55 per cent saying they had suffered domestic violence.