KEY POINTS
- Morocco plans to update its family code after 20 years.
- Women may gain more rights in polygamy, custody, and marriage.
- Reforms align with Islamic principles and universal values.
Morocco is set to update its family code for the first time in 20 years, introducing reforms aimed at improving women’s rights within the family.
Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi outlined the proposals on Tuesday, including significant changes to polygamy, child custody, and underage marriage rules.
Women’s rights advocates have long called for changes to the family code, which is grounded in Islamic law, to address gender inequalities.
The draft reforms include over 100 amendments designed to enhance justice, equality, and solidarity within Moroccan families.
Polygamy, custody, and child marriage under scrutiny
One of the major proposals allows women to include a stipulation against polygamy in their marriage contracts.
If no such stipulation is made, polygamy will only be permitted under specific conditions, such as the first wife’s infertility, and even then, additional restrictions apply.
According to Reuters, the revised code also seeks to simplify and shorten divorce procedures and recognizes child custody as a shared responsibility between spouses.
Divorced women will retain custody of their children even if they remarry, and either spouse may remain in the marital home upon the other’s death.
The reforms restrict underage marriage exceptions to those aged 17, while maintaining the legal marriage age at 18.
Balancing tradition and modernity
While the proposed amendments stop short of addressing all concerns raised by women’s rights groups, such as Islamic inheritance laws that grant men twice the share of women, they introduce options for individuals to gift assets to female heirs. Inheritance between spouses of different religions will be possible only through wills or gifts.
King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s supreme religious authority, emphasized that the updated code should balance Islamic principles with universal values, aiming to protect Moroccan families.
The draft law still requires parliamentary approval, but it marks a significant step toward promoting gender equality in the country.
