TUNIS: Some 300 people marched in Tunis Thursday to condemn the act of a man who allegedly burned his 13-year-old daughter to death because she was walking with a boy.

“No to violence against women and children,” “Nowhere is safe,” and “Eya is a victim of extremism and fanaticism,” were among the messages on banners at the demonstration, dubbed “Silent march for Eya”.

According to preliminary results of the inquiry, the girl’s father sprayed her with petrol last month and set her on fire after seeing her in the street with a boy, the public prosecutor’s spokesman Allala Rhouma said.

The man was arrested and Eya, who lived in Tunis, died in hospital a few days later.

The investigation to establish the exact causes of her death is ongoing, and her father is undergoing psychiatric assessment, Rhouma said.

“It’s an odious and terrifying crime. This march is a cry of distress. I am genuinely afraid for the future of our children,” said one protester, Radhia Ammar.

The organisers called on the Tunisian authorities and civil society to “act so that these crimes are never tolerated, never become normal”, and to protect the rights of women and children “against all physical or verbal aggression taking place under the cover of guardianship”.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2014