Morocco Adopts Landmark Family Law Supporting Women’s Equality

February 24, 2004 

Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) and our partner organization l’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM) are pleased to report that on January 25, 2004, the government of Morocco adopted a new landmark Family Law supporting women’s equality and granting them new rights in marriage and divorce, among others.

In April 2001, efforts to pass similar family law reforms were suspended while a Consultative Commission established by His Majesty King Mohammed VI studied the possibility of revising the Moudawana, Morocco's Civil Status Code that encompassed family law governing women's status. The continued advocacy and awareness-raising efforts of women’s rights activists, strong backing by government leaders such as Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi, and the personal public support of HM King Mohammed VI contributed to the Commission’s decision in favor of a reformed Moroccan Family Law. In October 2003, almost two and a half years after the establishment of the Commission, HM King Mohammed VI publicly announced new reforms creating a modern Family Law consistent with the tolerant spirit of Islam and “lifting the iniquity imposed on women, protecting children’s rights, and safeguarding men’s dignity.” During the fall and winter of 2003, women’s rights organizations, organized within the “Printemps de l’Egalité” network, analyzed the details of the draft legislation’s text and organized workshops, round tables, and discussion groups to prepare for renewed lobbying efforts in Parliament and to educate the public about the reforms.

On February 3, 2004, the Presidents of both houses of Parliament presented the unanimously approved new Family Law to HM King Mohammed VI. The new legislation replaces the family law included in the Moudawana and includes the following reforms:

Equality:
• Husband and wife share joint responsibility for the family;
• The wife is no longer legally obliged to obey her husband;
• The adult woman is entitled to self-guardianship, rather than that of a male family member, and may exercise it freely and independently;
• The minimum age of marriage is 18 for both men and women.

Divorce:

• The right to divorce is a prerogative of both men and women, exercised under judicial supervision;
• The principle of divorce by mutual consent is established.

Polygamy:

• Polygamy is subject to the judge’s authorization and to stringent legal conditions, making the practice nearly impossible;
• The woman has the right to impose a condition in the marriage contract requiring that her husband refrain from taking other wives;
• If there is no pre-established condition, the first wife must be informed of her husband’s intent to remarry, the second wife must be informed that her husband-to-be is already married, and moreover, the first wife may ask for a divorce due to harm suffered.

Enforcement of Law:

• The Family Law assigns a key role to the judiciary in upholding the rule of law and provides for the public prosecutor to be a party to every legal action involving the enforcement of Family Law stipulations.

Children’s Rights:

• The woman is given the possibility of retaining custody of her child even upon remarrying or moving out of the area where her husband lives;
• The child’s right to acknowledgment of paternity is protected in that case that the marriage has not been officially registered.

READ a comparison of the major improvements introduced in the new Family Law with the former provisions (PDF file, 241KB).

For further information on efforts to reform legislation in Morocco see the July 23, 2001 alert issued by WLP.