Morocco suggests changes to family legislation to strengthen the rights of women

Morocco’s justice and Islamic affairs ministries said Tuesday that the country is reviewing its family law for the first time in 20 years, with the goal of giving women additional powers over guardianship and custody of children as well as a veto against polygamous marriage.

In Morocco, where Islam is the official religion, women’s rights activists have been working to amend laws protecting women’s and children’s rights inside the family.

Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi told reporters that the new rule will allow women to state in a marriage contract that they oppose polygamy, among other changes.

In the absence of such resistance, he argued, a husband may accept a second wife in specific situations, such the infertility of the first wife, further restricting polygamy.

According to him, it also seeks to expedite and streamline the divorce process, allows one spouse to keep the marital residence in the case of the other’s passing, and views child custody as a shared right between the couple.

After remarriage, divorced women will be permitted to keep custody of their children, and the rule would limit exceptions for underage marriage to 17 years old, upholding the legal marriage age of 18.

Although the Islamic-based inheritance system that gives a man twice a woman’s portion is not eliminated by the updated code, it does permit people to give any of their assets to their female heirs, according to Ouahbi. 

Wills or gifts are the only ways for couples of different religions to inherit from one another.

It was not possible to get in touch with Moroccan women’s rights advocates, who have advocated for equal inheritance rules.

The country’s highest religious authority, King Mohammed VI, stated Monday that in order to safeguard the Moroccan family, the revised code—which must be approved by parliament—should be based on “the principles of justice, equality, solidarity and harmony” with Islamic precepts and universal values.