Source: Human Rights Watch

last updated 25 September 08

The Kingdom of Morocco is a constitutional monarchy and is currently ruled by His Majesty King Muhammad VI, who became king following the death of his father, the late King Hassan II, in July 1999. During his rule the state of the law in Morocco has improved substantially in regards to women’s rights. Primarily this reform is found in the 2004 revisions of the family code (also known as the Moudawana). Additionally, in the 2006 Concluding Observations on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee praised Morocco for amending the Penal Code in 2003, to criminalize sex tourism, sexual abuse, trafficking in persons and child pornography. Though the King has committed the country to human rights reforms, some of the notable obstacles to preventing and prosecuting acts of violence include: a family law system based on Islamic law that until recently provided more rights in marriage and divorce to men than to women, unwillingness of law enforcement to interfere in disputes considered family matters, a high illiteracy rate in the general population, and distrust of the legal system.

Constitutional Provisions

The most recent revisions to the Moroccan Constitution were adopted on September 13, 1996. Article five of the constitution states: “All Moroccan Citizens shall be equal before the law.” Article thirteen states that all citizens shall have equal rights in seeking education and employment. Article six of the constitution establishes Islam as the national religion of Morocco and article nineteen of the constitution establishes the king as the Commander of the Faithful. As Commander of the Faithful the king acts as the country’s spiritual leader and ensures that the laws which govern the Muslim population of the country do not contradict Islamic law.

Overview: Human Rights and Women’s Rights in Morocco

A comprehensive statement about Morocco’s position on human rights can be found in the National Report provided by Morocco to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2008 (National Report Submitted in Accordance with paragraph 15(A) of the annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 * Morocco, United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Geneva, 7-18 April, 2008 (hereinafter “2008 Report”). The King is advised on human rights issues by the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH). Morocco ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women but made reservations based on perceived conflicts between the Convention and the shari‘a. In the 2008 Report Morocco stated that it is taking steps to withdraw some of these reservations and that it is considering adopting the Optional Protocol for this Convention. The 2008 Report also states that Morocco is considering setting up a family solidarity fund for divorced women.

The Family Law Reforms of 2004

As an Islamic nation, the family law in Morocco is based on the Islamic Law, or shari‘a. The February 2004 changes to the family law, as is common with many major legislative initiatives, were proposed by His Majesty King Muhammad VI. The preamble to the new family law states:

Doing justice to women, protecting children’s rights and preserving men’s dignity are a fundamental part of this project, which adheres to Islam’s tolerant ends and objectives, notably justice, equality, solidarity, ijtihad (judicial reasoning) and receptiveness to the spirit of our modern era and the requirements of progress and development. ***

His Majesty King Mohamed VI, may God glorify him – in order to illustrate his commitment to the policies of local democracy and participation, respond to the legitimate expectations of the Moroccan people, and further emphasize the shared will that unites the entire nation with its leader on the path of comprehensive reform, swift progress, and the strengthening of the Kingdom’s civilizational enlightenment – has insisted, may God protect him, on making the Moroccan family – based upon shared responsibility, affection, equality, equity, amicable social relations and proper upbringing of children – a substantial major component of the democratization process, given that the family constitutes the essential nucleus of society.

(The Moroccan Family Code of February 5, 2004, an unofficial English translation of the original Arabic text, see http://www.hrea.org/moudawana.html)

The first version of the current family law was codified in 1957 after Morocco gained independence from France. Attempts to reform the code began within a decade after its codification, and the first reforms were adopted in 1993 (Mir-Hosseini, p. 1506). In 1999 the late King Hassan II presented a Plan of Action for the “improvement of women’s position in Moroccan society” (Mir-Housseini, p. 1508). Women’s organizations applauded the 1999 plan, but faced opposition from some Islamists and conservatives in government. As a show of strength the women’s movement organized a march in Rabat in March 2000, the attendance at which is estimated to have been somewhere between 40,0000 and 100,000 (Mir-Housseini, p. 1508).

Prior to the 2004 reforms, the family code required that a woman obey her husband, required a woman to use a male guardian (or wali) to conclude her marriage, and limited the circumstances under which a woman could seek a divorce. The new family code in Morocco grants mutual rights and duties to both the husband and the wife. This includes the joint protection and management of household affairs and the education of children. (Moudawana, Book 1: Article 51). The code no longer includes the broad mandate that a woman obey her husband. The right of a husband to use repudiation to dissolve a marriage (declaring divorce three times in front of male witnesses) is limited to judicial action. (Moudawana, Book 2: Articles 78-93). It requires that a man seeking to take more than one wife prove that he can treat both equally in a court of law and allows the court to play a role in making sure the first wife has consented. (Moudawana, Book 1: Articles 40-46) It codifies the right to seek divorce based on “irreconcilable differences,” however the right to do so is limited by instructions to the court to make all efforts to reconcile the spouses. (Moudawana, Book 1: Articles 94-97). A wife is specifically given the right to petition for divorce on the following grounds: Non-respect by the husband of one of the conditions in the marriage contract; harm, non-maintenance, absence, latent defect, and abstinence and abandonment. (Moudawana, Book 1:Article 98)

Domestic Violence

As of the time of the U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices (hereinafter “U.S. Dept. of State Report”), which was issued in March 2008, there were no laws in the Moroccan civil, penal, or family codes that specifically prohibited domestic violence against women, though the report stated that the general prohibitions of the criminal code could be applied to such violence. Men face severe punishment if convicted of rape or sexual assault, but there exists no law that recognizes spousal rape as a crime. Additionally, criminal charges against a rapist are dropped if the perpetrator agrees to marry their victim (“Final Report”, Global Rights Morocco, June 2008). The report further states that sexual assaults are often unreported, in part due to fear of loss of honor. Assaults against women with intent to kill (honor killings) did occur, but gender-based violence is often deemed a private matter and thus police hesitate to interfere.

In November 2007, the Ministry of Social Development, Families, and Solidarity for the first time published official data on violence against women. A total of 17,511 cases of violence were reported from 2006 to 2007. Forty-four percent of those reporting were between 18 and 24 years old and 35 percent were between 25 and 34 years old. The U.S. Dept. of State Report notes that the women’s NGO Democratic League of Women’s Rights reported in the first half of 2007 that “economic” violence, which is defined as a failure to meet familial or child support obligations, comprised 37 percent of cases, and physical violence represented 23 percent of the cases. According to the NGO Global Rights, gender related violence is underreported and poorly documented. Global Rights also reports that “[p]sychological, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic domestic violence” are not included in the most recent legislation (“Final Report”, Global Rights Morocco, June 2008). There are toll-free numbers available for victims of domestic violence.

On March 27, 2008, the Minister of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity, in response to increasing reports of domestic violence, announced an action plan to increase the number of centers for women who have been victims of violence and to prepare a draft bill to outlaw violence against women (Sarah Touahri, “Morocco seeks to outlaw violence against women”, Magharebia, April 1, 2008).  Monitoring services had reported over 17,000 cases of violence as of late March 2008, 78.8% of which were perpetrated by husbands. (Touahri, see above)

Human Trafficking

Morocco is a source for women (and men and children) trafficked to Italy, Spain, and other parts of Europe and the Middle East for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Morocco is separated from Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar, and Spain is only eight miles away at the Strait’s narrowest point. Morocco is a transit point for trafficking in large part because of this geographic proximity to Europe. According to the U.S. Dept. of State Report, the two most commonly trafficked groups were girls sent involuntarily to serve as child maids and women forced to perform sexual services. The U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Person Report dated June 4, 2008 (hereinafter the TIP Report), indicates that Articles 497-499 of the Moroccan Penal Code prohibit forced prostitution and prostitution of a minor, and that trafficking in persons is prosecuted through a variety of laws, including the Immigration Law of 2003 and laws against kidnapping, fraud, and coercion. The anti-trafficking statutes punish both traffickers and complicit public officials with sentences from six months to 20 years. However, the TIP Report indicates that Morocco has done little to protect victims of trafficking and may be failing to properly punish perpetrators.

Morocco is ranked by the United Nations as a Tier 2 Nation, which means that it is making significant efforts to be in compliance with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. This is a downgrade from its Tier 1 status in 2007.

Assessment of the Legal System

The World Bank’s Legal and Judicial Sector Assessment of Morocco in June 2003 provides a comprehensive review of the legal system in Morocco. While the assessment states that the overall legal framework in Morocco does not need to be the focus of reform, it describes several areas that need improvement. These include the law-making process, dissemination of current law, training of the judiciary and other personnel working within the legal system, and the independence of the judiciary. Enforcement of the law is cited in the assessment as a crucial problem in Morocco. The aforementioned U.S. Dept. of State Report indicates that police are reluctant to interfere in a dispute between a husband and a wife. Furthermore the World Bank Assessment reveals that judgments are not published and thus it is difficult for judges and others involved in law enforcement to be aware of changes to the law.

The U.S. Dept. of State Report indicates that the judiciary is subject to influence, particularly in cases dealing with the Monarchy, the Western Sahara, and religion. The World Bank’s 2003 Assessment is in accord and states that public perception of the judiciary is poor, however it suggests that part of the poor perception may be due to the country’s high illiteracy rate, which is estimated at over 50%. According to the most recent U.N. statistics the illiteracy rate among women over age 15 is 57%. The illiteracy rate among women ages 15-29 is somewhat lower at 33%.

Major legislative reform in Morocco comes from the executive branch rather than the legislative branch. In addition to the King, the executive branch includes a Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. The legislative branch consists of a Parliament which is composed of the House of Representatives and the House of Counselors. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for six-year terms by universal suffrage while the members of the House of Counselors are elected for nine-year terms by local and national electoral colleges, which include members of trade organizations and representatives of salaried workers.

Sources:

Translation of the February 5, 2004 Family Law (Human Rights Education Association) http://www.hrea.org/moudawana.html

The U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2007 (March 11, 2008) http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100602.htm

Ziba Mir-Hosseini, “How the Door of Ijtihad was opened and closed: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Family Law Reforms in Iran and Morocco”, Washington & Lee Law Review, 64 (Fall 2007).

Amna Arshad, “Ijtihad as a Tool for Islamic Legal Reform: Advancing Women’s Rights in Morocco”, Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, 16 (Winter 2006-2007).

Yakare-Oule Jansen, “Muslim Brides and the Ghost of the Shari’a: Have the Recent Law Reforms in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco Improved Women’s Position in Marriage and Divorce, and Can Religious Moderates Bring Reform and Make it Stick?”, Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights, 5 (Spring 2007).

Laura A. Weingartner, “Family Law & Reform in Morocco – The Mudawana: Modernist Islam and Women’s Rights in the Code of Personal Status”, University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, 82 (Summer 2005).

Additional Useful Sources:

NATIONAL REPORT SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 15(A) OF THE ANNEX TO HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL RESOLUTION 5/1 * Morocco (United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Geneva, 7-18 April, 2008) http://www.ccdh.org.ma/IMG/pdf/UPR_National_report_in_English_11-03-08.pdf

Ministry of Justice website: http://www.justice.gov.ma/index_an.aspx

Kingdom of Morocco, Advisory Council on Human Rights website: http://www.ccdh.org.ma/?lang=en

For additional information on trafficking of persons in Morocco see the Protection Project website: www.protectionproject.org

http://www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/morocco.doc  (Regarding Morocco)