Are women oppressed in Morocco?

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Are women oppressed in Morocco?

Contents

Are women oppressed in Morocco? ....................................................................................................... 1

Introduction..........................................................................................Error! Marcador no definido.

Moroccoa fairly positive example................................................................................................... 3

The Moudawa and the Womens Rights movement ...................................................................... 3

Womens legal rights ...................................................................................................................... 4

Womens right to be and decide independently ............................................................................ 5

Women at work .............................................................................................................................. 5

Womens political rights ................................................................................................................. 6

Womens social and cultural rights................................................................................................. 6

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 7

Introduction

Judeao-Christian-Muslim Societies have historically had a tendency to be patriachical and to

support mens power and status predominance. From a European point of view the Arab

world is often seen with some skepticism. Special attention is given to the role of women in

an Islamic order. In many reports and documentaries it looks as if Arab women have few or

no rights. Many women wonder if this view represents a misinterpretation of the situation, or

an exaggeration of the real facts of this situation.

This essay will analyze the situation of women in Morocco, where WOMEN ARE

OPPRESSED, but strong progress has taken place during the last 50 years, and especially

since 1999, when King Mohammed VI ascended to the throne.


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Morocco a fairly positiv example

If we compare the situation of Moroccan women to womens situation in other Arabic

countries, Morocco would be placed in a leadingposition. Its not very advanced but its

recent history shows us its good will to help its women out of their misery.1

The Moudawa and the Womens Rights movement

In 1885 a group of women started to fight for equality and ten years after that dozens of

womens rights organizations were working towards this goal. In 1992 the Union of

Womens Action started a campaign which became so strong that the King, Hassan II was

obligated to consider modifications in the Family Code, introduced in 1957. Only moderatefeminists were allowed to participate in the gathering. The improvements made, were weak,

but nevertheless positive. For example the Article 16c of the Constitution of the Kingdom of

Morocco grants the same right and responsibilities to men and women during marriage

and its dissolution. Nevertheless, the Moudawana (Morocco's family law)2

retained many

discriminating characteristics. In 2005, however, further rather progressive reforms were

made.

See the table below which compares the main improvements of the new Family Code:

Family Code of 1957 Family Code of 1993 Family Code of 2005

Women may get married at 15 Women may get married at

18

Men could verbally divorce

their wives at any time, and

their decision would be

legally binding

Men could verbally divorce

their wives at any time, and

their decision would be legally

binding

Divorce must be settled in

court. Women now have the

right to divorce their

husbands as well, including a

failure to observe any of the

conditions in the marriage

contract, or if the man

harmed his wife through lack

1(Unesco, 2007)

2The Moroccan Family Code, [Online], Available from: .


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of financial support,

abstinence, violence or any

other wrongful deeds

Polygamy was allowed Polygamy was permitted, with

or without the consent of the

previous wives, but the wives

have to get informed

Judge's authorisation

required for polygamy

In case of divorce custody

of the child always went to

the father

The women may get custody of

the child if the father is dead or

sick

The women may receiv4e

custody of the child

The legal guardian chooses

the husband

Women choose their husband

freely but a legal guardian has

to be present at the wedding

Women choose their

husband on their own

3

But we have to consider that with a 68 percent

female illiteracy rate, many women are not even

conscious of their legal rights. And the mission of

educating them about their rights was for the most

part done by nongovernmental organizations.4

(Lamzari)

Generally Morocco is a country with positive changes towards economic and political

liberalization in particular more recently under the reign of King Mohammed VI, who

ascended the throne in 1999. Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) fighting for human

rights of women are generally free to organize and set up conferences, seminars and so on.

Womens legal rights

Under the Constitution, women have the same political rights as men. There are measures to

improve the status of Moroccan women such as the creation of a Ministry responsible for the

status of women. Nevertheless, judges on issues of marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody

of children etc, still generally decide in favour of men. In addition, Moroccan women cannot

3M. W.,Morocco: Giving Women More Rights, [Online], Available from: .

4(Lamzari, 2009)


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pass their citizenship or their foreign husband or children born to a foreign husband except

under special circumstances. The new laws passed have been generally favourable to the

interests of women in the criminal code. Cases of adultery, abuse, violence are punished

equally for men and women, but women can still be punished if they become pregnant

outside of marriage, and a woman's testimony is not yet equal to that of a man.5

Womens right to be and decide independently

It is not legal for a woman to marry a non-Muslim. The laws that prevented women to travel

independently or obtain a passport have been rejected, but in practice states officials still

require girls or married women to prove the authorization of her father or husband. The Code

of Personal Status says that women and men share responsibility for family and family

affairs, with both rights and duties. Women can opt for the pro mutual consent divorce and

divorce due to irreconcilable differences. Trafficking of Moroccan or African girls is a

serious problem in the country.6

Child labour is common in Morocco where girls between 10

and 12 are employed as domestic workers even though the legal working age rose from 12 to

15 years in 2002.7

Women at work

Discrimination against women in the Moroccan economy is a factor delaying gender equality.

The lack of access to equal economic rights is more common in rural than in urban areas, due

to lack of literacy and knowledge. Illiteracy rates among women in Morocco are very high:

61.7%. Primary education is mandatory only since 2000 and rural women are involved in

high proportion.8The labour code provides for equality at work in employment and salaries,

but here again the theory is different from the practice. Some professions remain closed to

women. Unemployment tends to be higher among women. Those with high academic

standards suffer a higher rate of unemployment than any other group of women.

5(Hillauer, 2005)

6

(Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery)7(USA)

8(Spratt, 2000)


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Womens political rights

Women can participate in the judicial and legislative branches and have some freedom of

public expression. In 1999, 30 parliamentary seats were allocated to women candidates, a

valuable increase of 1% of the seats to 10.8%.9

Nominations and participation in local

elections is back without active government support and mechanisms to increase

representation. Women constitute one-sixth of the country's lawyers and judges in almost all

court levels. Their participation at the ministerial level did not show much success with only

one woman in the position of Secretary of State.

Womens social and cultural rights

Access to social and cultural rights is limited and in some cases restricted for women in

general, and especially so for rural women. Media and press in particular have promoted

positive changes in the status of women. Women now play a more active role in radio and

television.10

Conclusion

Moroccan womens situation is clearly aggrieved. They lag far behind in their economic and social

participation and decision making. Women remain an under-utilized and under-endowed human

resource, and the gap between women and men tends to be unjustifiably large. That limits womens

choices and opportunities enormously.

Compared with the past, however, womens situation is upgrading in every single field. The

conversion to more progressive laws and rules is gaining ground slowly in Morocco.

9(Hillauer, 2005)

10(Agha)


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Bibliography

(n.d.). Retrieved from Morocco: Giving women more rights.:

http://www.mwcoalition.org/id130.html

Agha, S. (n.d.). Evaluacin Comparativa sobre los Derechos de las Mujeres en Oriente Medio y el

Norte de frica: Una desventaja profunda. Retrieved from

http://www.mediterraneas.org/article.php3?id_article=460

Black, I. (Tuesday 23 December 2008). Saudi girl, eight, married off to 58-year-old is denied divorce.

The Guardian .

El-Hennawy, N. (2006, August). Reigning Supreme. (E. t.-t. Egypt, Ed.)

Hillauer, R. (2005). Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers. The American University in Cairo Press.

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Morocco.htm

Johanyak, D. (2006). Behind the veil. University Of Akron Press .

Lamzari. (2009). Frauenrechte in Marokko im Rahmen der neuen Moudawana. University of Vienna.

Rippin, A. (2003). Muslims: Vol. 2, The Contemporary Period: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.

New York Taylor & Francis.

Owen, R. (2000). State, Power and Politics in the making of the modern Middle East. Routledge.

Salman, M. (1987). Women in the Middle East. Zed Books.

Shana Cohen, L. J. (2006). Morocco. Routledge.

Shariff, S. (January 1, 2007). EL VELO DEL MIEDO. Circulo De Lectores.

Spratt, J. E. (2000). Women and Literacy in Morocco. Sage editions.

The Moroccan Family Code. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hrea.org/moudawana.html

The Muslim Woman. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.themuslimwoman.org/

Unesco, A. B. (2007, 05 23). La mujer, agente de desarrollo y cambio. El caso de Marruecos y la

cooperacin mediterrnea. Rcupr sur

http://www.iemed.org/publicacions/quaderns/7/e023_Bennani.pdf

USA, B. o. (n.d.). Morocco. Retrieved from

http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/morocco.htm
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Morocco.htmhttp://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Morocco.htm


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Are women oppressed in Morocco?