Mouna Ba

Image copyright Miss Algerie Image caption Khadija Ben Hamou, from the south of Algeria, said she was proud of her identity The first dark-skinned winner of the Miss Algeria beauty pageant has hit back at critics who have hurled racial abuse at her on social media. "I will not back down because of the people who criticised me," Khadija Ben Hamou told Algerian news site TSA. Slurs about her skin colour, nose and lips have been made about her on Facebook and Twitter.

Image copyright Miss Algerie Image caption Khadija Ben Hamou, from the south of Algeria, said she was proud of her identity The newly crowned winner of Miss Algeria beauty pageant has hit back at critics who have hurled racial abuse at her because of her skin colour. "I will not back down because of the people who criticised me," Khadija Ben Hamou told Algerian news site TSA. Slurs about her dark skin colour, nose and lips have been made on Facebook and Twitter.

Morocco’s law criminalising violence against women has come into force. The law includes a ban on forced marriage, sexual harassment in public places, and tougher penalties for certain forms of violence. It has been criticised by Human Rights Watch for not explicitly criminalising marital rape and lacking a precise definition of domestic violence. A government survey found that 63% of women between the ages of 18-65 had been victims of violence.