As a result of reform measures imposed by the king in 2004, the situation for women in Morocco has improved significantly. Even though applying the new legislation is taking time and progress is sometimes stalled by attitudes inherited from the past, Morocco can now be counted amongst North African countries in which the protection of women is the most satisfactory.
Morocco’s new Family Code, adopted in 2004, grants women greater rights within the family, although some discrimination still exists. Under the new code, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and women (it was previously 15 years for women); marriage under the age of 18 years now requires permission from a judge. At present, early marriage remains quite common in Morocco: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 13 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. However, the reform is making it possible to limit the practice. The free consent of both spouses is now required by law and women no longer need permission from a male guardian (such as their father) to marry.
Polygamy was legal in Morocco before the 2004 reform, but practised in only a small proportion of households. The new Family Code does not explicitly prohibit polygamy, but rather includes measures that make it very complicated. Husbands who want to take another wife must obtain a judge’s permission and provide documentary evidence of their financial situation. They must also attest that all their spouses will be treated equally. Polygamy is illegal if the marriage contract of the original couple contains a clause prohibiting it. The number of polygamous marriages has decreased rapidly since the reform, a trend that suggests the practice will eventually die out.
Under Morocco’s new Family Code, mothers and fathers share parental authority and have the same rights and responsibilities within the family; they must jointly manage all aspects of their life together. The former code legitimised inequality by stipulating that husbands headed the family and wives were obliged to obey them.
The new code eradicated the concept of repudiation. In addition, divorce can no longer be authorised by a notary public but must be granted by a court and only after a judge leads the couple through a conciliation process. The 2004 reform gave Moroccan women the right to divorce on the same grounds as men, a move that is thought to have led to a significant decrease in the number of divorces. Divorced women no longer automatically forfeit custody of their children if they remarry or choose to live in a different town. Fathers can be awarded custody of their children from the age of seven years. Once children reach the age of 15 years, they can choose the parent with whom they wish to live.
The 2004 reform did not remove the inequality related to the inheritance rights of Moroccan men and women. Moroccan women in rural areas can still be excluded from inheriting land and, throughout the country, daughters still inherit only half the share passed on to sons. Moreover, if there are no sons, daughters do not inherit all of their parents’ estate; part of it is distributed amongst aunts and uncles. In effect, the reform changed only the inheritance rules for grandchildren. In cases where the mother is deceased, children can now inherit property from their maternal grandparents; this reflects inheritance rights in the case of a deceased father.
Since 2000, the Moroccan government has taken important steps to protect women’s physical integrity, but attitudes are slow to change and violence against women remains a major problem. In recent years, severe sentences have been handed down to violent men, yet the number of battered women appears to keep increasing. Some women take legal action against perpetrators of violence, but most remain silent. Public opinion often takes the view that domestic violence is a private matter and nearly half of the population considers it legitimate for men to beat their wives in certain circumstances.
Since the reform, battered wives have better protection and more opportunity to leave the family home thanks to government initiatives to create new institutions such as a special violence investigation unit within the police force and shelters to protect battered women. They also have easier access to divorce; the time required for divorce proceedings has been reduced to six months. In 2002, the Moroccan government announced a national strategy to eliminate violence against women; administrative authorities from all concerned government agencies (the health department, the justice system and the police) are making concerted efforts to address the issue.
Morocco’s Employment Code was recently revised and now recognises sexual harassment in the workplace as an offence.
Female genital mutilation does not appear to be a common practice in Morocco. There is some evidence to suggest that Morocco may be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
In theory, Moroccan women have the same ownership rights as men, but tradition often limits those rights. Despite a favourable legal framework, women’s access to land is often restricted, particularly in rural areas.
Women are legally entitled to access to property other than land and to manage such property as they wish. Under Morocco’s standard matrimonial system, spouses retain their own property, which means that marriage does not automatically affect women’s ownership rights. However, couples have the right to draw up a written agreement, separate from the marriage contract, that defines the conditions for management and use of property acquired during the marriage.
Moroccan tradition prevents women from having access to bank loans. In response, the government has launched numerous micro-credit initiatives targeted at women, especially skilled craftswomen and those with small shops. Morocco has become a pioneer in this area, and hundreds of thousands of women have benefited from these programmes.
Moroccan women appear to be able to exercise their civil liberties more freely than in the past, but tradition continues to impose some restrictions, particularly in rural areas. Women’s freedom of movement does not appear to be restricted in everyday life, although one exception should be noted. According to laws implemented in 1994, women do not need their husbands’ authorisation to obtain a passport or travel, but some civil servants continue to demand such authorisation before they will issue the passport. The new law states that spouses should jointly choose where they will live as a couple.
There are no official restrictions on Moroccan women’s freedom of dress. Even though it is a predominantly Muslim country, women are not obliged to wear the veil and few do. Some women choose to veil themselves for religious reasons, particularly in working-class neighbourhoods.
Afrol News (2003), Gender Profile: Morocco, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/morocco_women. htm, accessed: March 2008
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2006), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Morocco, Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/MAR/4, CEDAWNew York, NY.
Freedom House (2005), Morocco, Freedom House, Inc., Washington, DC, www.freedomhouse.org.
Loudghiri, K. (2005), Nuptialité et exposition aux risques de grossesse, Demographic Health Survey 2003.
Quantara.de (2004), Women’s Rights, Morocco’s King Takes a Courageous Step, available at: www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-77/i.html
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
