Demands to abolish an article permitting the marriage of minors in Morocco

The parliamentary bloc of the National Rally of Independents in the Moroccan House of Representatives submitted a legal proposal aimed at repealing an article permitting the marriage of minors in the country, according to the local Moroccan website, Hespress.

According to the website, this is the first time that a parliamentary team leading the government majority has submitted a proposal to abolish Article 20 of the Family Code, and in the event that happens, the marriage age will be set at eighteen for boys and girls, as stipulated in Article 19 of the Code.

Article 20 stipulates that “the family judge in charge of marriage may authorize the marriage of a boy and a girl under the age of eligibility stipulated in Article 19, provided that the age of the authorized person is not less than 16 years, with a reasoned decision stating the interest and the justifying reasons for this, after hearing the parents of the minor or his legal representative and obligatory use of medical expertise.”

The memorandum submitted by the National Rally of Independents bloc indicated that in the face of the continuation of the marriage of minors in Morocco, many human rights defenders are calling for the abolition of Article 20 of the Family Code, which they consider the root of the problem, in addition to their proposal to launch awareness campaigns to curb this phenomenon.

The memorandum noted that after amending the Family Code of the legal age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years, with an exception for the marriage of minors, the exception became the rule.

The memorandum stressed the need to reduce the phenomenon of underage marriage, given that the natural place for girls and boys is school, not marriage at an early age, and studies have shown that 99 percent of these marriages do not succeed.

She added: "Although the task of eradicating this phenomenon seems almost impossible, it is possible to engage in it and reduce it through awareness-raising and the enactment of strict laws in this regard."

 The National Rally of Independents bloc considered that the abolition of Article 20 of the Family Code comes so that "the exception does not turn into an origin (rule)."

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