Morocco.. A feminist campaign calling for a ban on polygamy and equality in inheritance

In conjunction with the passage of 18 years since the issuance of the Family Code (Personal Status Law) in Morocco, there are still calls from women's associations and human rights organizations to bring about fundamental and comprehensive changes that guarantee equality between women and men.

The Union of Women's Action in Morocco, which consists of several human rights associations and organizations, announced the launch of a national campaign in the country to bring about changes in the personal status law, according to the American "Al-Hurra" website, quoting the head of the union, Aisha El Hayyan.

According to jurists, this campaign coincides with the eighteenth anniversary of the issuance of the Family Code, which was launched under the slogan "For a family law that guarantees appropriateness and equality" to demand a radical and comprehensive change to the Code, especially with regard to equality in inheritance between the sexes and the final prohibition of polygamy, as in a report published The newspaper "Al-Amaq Moroccan" recently.

Jurists in the Union considered that, "The Family Code, which when issued, constituted a qualitative leap in the field of personal status, did not break completely in its philosophy, content and language with the conservative patriarchal perspective on family relations and the position of women's rights within them," as stated in the statement.

The Union of Women's Action explained that the code contains "discriminatory texts that perpetuate hierarchy in the relationship between spouses, injustice and violence against women and girls, and lead to the violation of their basic rights, impoverishment and insecurity, especially with regard to marriage, the marriage of young girls, divorce and legal guardianship over children" up to custody joint marriage, proof of lineage, polygamy, and inheritance.”

In this regard, Aisha Hayyan, head of the Association of Women's Work, told Al-Hurra: "We launched the campaign mainly in 2018 for a family law that guarantees equality between men and women, before we reconfirm it during this year."

She continued, "Our efforts have never stopped calling for reform and change in the Moroccan Family Code, as we used to organize symbolic symposiums and trials every year to discuss an issue that concerns women or to focus on an open right to them, through a continuous and diligent evaluation of the gaps and gaps in family and family laws." ".

She cautioned that the family code should have changed radically since the adoption of the constitutional amendments in 2011 so that national laws are aligned with the articles of the constitution that emphasize equality between all citizens regardless of gender, religion, language, race, color, etc.

She stressed the need to review all articles of the Code and change them in a radical and comprehensive manner, in order to "consistent with the requirements of the modern era and international treaties to which Morocco has declared its commitment."

And she continued, "The conditions of the Moroccan family have changed very much. What was acceptable in the eighties of the last century has become obsolete, and it has become necessary to put in place new laws that are appropriate for the current time."

The thinker and researcher, Said Nachid, agreed with her, who explained in an interview with Al-Hurra that "the required, urgent and radical changes have become the price, so to speak, for Morocco to enter this era that no longer accepts medieval traditions and customs."

Jurists in the union demand the prohibition of polygamy, the prohibition of marrying off young girls, the adoption of the legal age of marriage set at 18 years for males and females without any exception, the adoption of a mandatory family property management contract and its stipulation within the documents necessary for the marriage file, and an explicit provision for considering the role of domestic work and child rearing in the evaluation of Women's contribution.

Here, Al-Hayyan explains on Al-Hurra website that the marriage of underage girls harms women and increases their vulnerability because they are forced to leave school, inability to work and financial independence, in addition to the risks of early pregnancy, adding: “What do we expect from a girl who gives birth to a child… Will she have psychological and mental capabilities? and material to take care of him.

She adds: "Therefore, strict laws must be enacted that prohibits marriage before the age of eighteen for both sexes, and that there should be deterrent and deterrent penalties for anyone who tempts himself to marry his young daughter."

Among the proposed amendments to the Family Code are the assignment of guardianship over children to the mother and father without discrimination during marital life and after separation, the abolition of discrimination in custody articles, and the non-consideration of the marriage of a divorced mother as a factor in revoking custody.

"We demand equality between the sexes in rights and duties, but we focus on the rights of women and children, as they are the weakest group in society at present, and they are the ones who suffer the most under the laws in which he is currently working," Al-Hayyan explains.

Regarding the issue of banning polygamy, which some conservatives consider to be inconsistent with Islamic law, Al Hayyan responds: “Basically, there are laws and conditions that have restricted the issue of polygamy in recent years, and according to some statistics, this percentage is less than one percent, and therefore laws are designed to improve the conditions of the majority and not minority".

This campaign comes shortly after the Minister of Justice, Abdel Latif Wehbe, announced that the legislative plan of his ministry includes conducting an evaluation of the provisions of the Family Code in the direction of preparing a vision to review some of its requirements.

Wehbe explained, in a previous interview with the Committee on Justice and Legislation in the House of Representatives, that amending the Family Code remains within the competence of the King, but that does not prevent him from taking decisions regarding it and presenting it to him, declaring that the decisions that will be taken regarding the Family Code will be presented to the Moroccan monarch to be He has the final decision on it, according to the local newspaper, Akhbar Al-Youm.

In the same context, Al Hayyan believes that "the two previous governments led by the Justice and Development Party did not make any efforts to bring about the required changes in the Family Code, although the Ministry of Justice had issued an official report in 2010 that spoke of the existence of unfair deficiencies and loopholes in the family laws without implementing it." .

For his part, thinker Nachid believes that "all humanity, including Morocco, is developing in terms of its moral, legislative and social mind through the unification of laws worldwide."

He adds, explaining: "That unification is inevitable, because in the era of globalization and global trade, and people are moving between the parts of the world every day, and therefore it is not possible to coexist between people without unifying laws, for example, if a man migrated from a country that approved polygamy to another country, it is prohibited." He will place a great moral and social burden on his new home by having to divorce his wife so that he can remarry, and this example can be compared to other laws."

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