Earlier this week, a viral video of a woman being sexually assaulted by a group of teenage boys in Morocco sent shockwaves across the world.
Police have since identified the victim and perpetrators, arresting six suspects aged between 15 and 17.
In a recent interview with AJ+, the victim's sister spoke up about the assault, explaining that she was so heartbroken to watch the video that she had a miscarriage soon after.
In the heart-wrenching minute-long video that was widely circulated online, the teens are seen ripping off 26-year-old Zeinab's clothes, shoving a piece of cloth down her mouth, as they rape her, one after the other.
The incident, which happened on Aug. 18, took place in the city of Casablanca on the M'Dina Bus.
According to a source who got in touch with StepFeed via email, nobody tried to interfere. The driver did not stop driving, and people were reportedly cheering the boys on.
"My heart ached for my sister"
"My sister looks a lot like me," Zeinab's sister told the AJ+. "As soon as I came across the video in the morning, I knew it was her."
She went on to say, "My heart ached for my sister," before bursting into tears.
Zeinab has apparently suffered from a "mental illness" for the past ten years, her sister explained - a claim reiterated by Moroccan police. Since she is not allowed to go out alone, she seeks every opportunity to escape the house - as was the case on the day she was assaulted.
According to her sister, Zeinab returned home after the assault and tried to inform her family of what happened. However, she was speaking in an incoherent manner, prompting the family to doubt the accuracy of her claims.
Zeinab's sister then said that she suffered a miscarriage after watching the video that documented the brutal assault.
"I lost my baby [...] When I saw my sister in that situation, being assaulted and screaming, without [being shown] any sympathy nor mercy," she said.
"What did they turn that bus into? A brothel in which they assault the servants of Allah?
Do we blame society, the kids who were not raised properly, or the bus driver? Whom should we blame?"
Moroccans are protesting rape culture
Activists in Morocco have been calling out rape culture, with hundreds gathering for a mass sit-in in Casablanca on Wednesday evening to protest against the assault.
This comes as women in the country face alarming rates of violence, as nearly two-thirds of women have experienced sexual, physical, psychological or economic abuse, according to a national survey.