A struggle over Quranic principles

Marriage, divorce, inheritance – Morocco awaits a reform of its family code. Before the summer break, Morocco’s king submitted proposals to Islamic scholars to scrutinise its compliance with Quranic principles. It remains unclear when the reform will come. Women’s rights activist Ghizlane Mamouni considers 10 October – the first parliamentary session after the summer – “a  favourable date for the reform to be passed”. That date will also mark 20 years since the first reform of the family code. 

Mamouni, a lawyer by profession, works with the organisation Kif Mama, Kif Baba (Like Mother, Like Father), and other feminist groups to advocate for changes to the family code, also known as moudawana. She is critical of the role of religious scholars. “We had hoped that the ulema would not be part of the reform process,” she tells Qantara. “We want the future family code to be independent of religious considerations, as is already the case with most legal texts in Morocco.” 

Once the ulema, members of the High Council of Religious Dignitaries, have given their assessment, the king must approve the reform. Only then does it go to a parliamentary vote. “We have hardly any insight into the course of the reform process,” Mamouni laments on behalf of feminist civil society. 

The king's balancing act

Moroccan activists have been campaigning for a reform of the family code since 2018. The code, which passed in 1956 following Morocco's independence from France, was revised for the first time in 2004. However, it still includes many grey areas. In 2022, King Mohammed VI announced a further reform to bring the family code into line with the principles of equality set out in the 2011 constitution, as well as with international agreements. The reform is also designed to respond to social change, such as the increasing emancipation of women.

But the king knows that he must find a balance between opposing forces in the country. “I shall not make licit that which the Almighty has forbidden, nor shall I forbid that which He has authorized, particularly when it comes to matters governed by unequivocal Quranic prescriptions,” he said in his 2022 Throne Day speech, a nod to the influential Islamic conservative forces. A commission has been working on reform proposals since autumn 2023. In addition to the religious dignitaries, the committee consists of representatives from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Family Affairs, the judiciary, the National Human Rights Council and the public prosecutor's office.   

After 130 hearings with political parties, academics, trade unions and representatives of civil society, the commission presented reform proposals to the king in March 2024, which have not yet been made public. However, in April, the online newspaper Hespress provided several insights relating to proposals on marriage and married life, divorce, custody and inheritance law. 

What does the commission propose?

According to reports, the commission primarily discussed the marriage of minors. This was already banned in 2004, although exceptions can still be granted by judicial authorisation. The number of marriages involving minors actually rose sharply between 2004 and 2011, from around 18,300 to nearly 40,000. The commission apparently therefore recommends a ban without exceptions, as is the case in neighbouring Tunisia. 

The commission has also suggested reducing the bureaucracy involved in marriages and allowing Moroccan women to marry non-Muslims. Feminist organisations such as Kif Mama, Kif Baba have also called for the complete abolition of polygamy, which under the current law – as in Tunisia – is permitted in exceptional cases. 

Married life is also set to be the subject of reform. The commission suggests that the higher-earning spouse, rather than the husband, should be responsible for managing joint expenses. It is also under discussion whether both spouses should be equally accountable for the care and upbringing of children. On these points, the recommendations reflect the demands of feminists. 

The rules on divorce in the moudawana are fiercely debated. The commission favours equality between men and women, as there are currently different forms of divorce. The main types practised are talaq and talaq al-shaqaq. In the talaq procedure, the husband can decide in favour of a divorce unilaterally and without giving reasons. 

Since 2004, women have also been allowed to initiate divorce with a talaq al-shaqaq process, but must provide reasons. Feminists welcome proposals of equal rights, but also call for a post-divorce pension equalisation scheme, as the majority of Moroccan women remain unable to build up their assets and are often left destitute after divorce. 

The commission would also like to see decisive changes to inheritance law. Departing from the existing law, derived from Islamic principles, inheritance could also be determined by a written will in the future. Currently, there is a fixed order of succession in which spouses and children are the main heirs. Sons receive twice as much as daughters and if there are no men among the direct heirs, the closest male relatives are involved, also receiving twice the share of female heirs. 

Interestingly, only 36% of Moroccans considered a reform of inheritance law to be necessary in 2022, according to a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), the Association des Femmes Marocaines pour la Recherche et le Développement (AFRMARD), and the Organistation Marocaine des Droits Humains (OMDH). 

Religion retains significant influence

Not all the demands made by Mamouni and her fellow campaigners are reflected in the reform proposals. Feminists are also in favour of supporting single mothers because, as well as facing precarious living conditions, they are not always able to claim child support entitlements if the father does not pay voluntarily. 

Activists call for custody and guardianship to be negotiated in tandem. Child custody concerns upbringing and supervision in everyday life, while legal guardianship affects administrative and financial matters. 

“The current regulation assigns custody to the mother and guardianship to the father, which is contrary to the best interests of the child. We are calling for guardianship to follow custody and be granted to both parents or the parent who is best suited to the children,” explains Mamouni. The commission does not seem to support this, but it does argue for the right of illegitimate children to the father's surname, without which children often have major problems with the authorities, for example when registering for school. 

For Mamouni, Article 400 of the moudawana is the root of Morocco’s backward family legislation. It allows judges to adopt religious arguments and makes Quranic principles the legal basis. This is another reason why the abolition of the article is a central demand of Kif Mama, Kif Baba and other organisations.   

In inheritance law, for example, take the Quranic principle of qiwama, the guardianship of men over the women of the family, which Mamouni uses to criticise the selective application of Quranic principles. “Only the part of the rule that suits men best was transferred: the inequality of inheritance. However, the condition for this, also from the qiwama, is not. No law allows me to sue my brother, my uncle or the state if he does not provide for all my needs,” she explains. “This shows a blatant intellectual dishonesty to the detriment of women that is no longer acceptable today.” 

The social media debate rages on

The feminist campaigns surrounding the current reform have not yet achieved the same reach as the campaigns during the first reform in 2004, says Latifa Benwakrim, member of the Moroccan Council for Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs, in an interview with Qantara. “Apart from a social media campaign, those in favour of the reform are taking a more academic approach. While this strategy is valuable for raising awareness among an elite, it has failed to mobilise the wider population.” 

This has created a gap that was quickly filled by opponents of the reform, who used misinformation, among other things, to mobilise against it. “Conservative and Islamist groups fear that the reform could deviate from traditional Islamic precepts, especially with regard to inheritance and polygamy,” says Benwakrim. “They have vehemently questioned the proposed changes because they see them as a threat to the existing social order.” 

The campaign Benwakrim mentions uses the hashtag #moudawanakantsana, which means “the moudawana I'm waiting for”. The campaign gained momentum around International Women’s Day on 8 March, when Moroccan feminists also held conferences and sit-ins to sharpen the content of their demands. The digital campaign was successful in generating supportive reactions as well as constructive criticism. 

However, a list of 22 alleged “enemies of Islam”, all feminist activists, was also posted on the moudawanakantsana Instagram page. Mamouni’s name was on it. Some of the women named then received death threats with allusions to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. Even the activists’ children were threatened. “The threats are aimed at silencing us. But in the end, no one has given up yet,” Mamouni says to end our conversation. Hopes remain high that her struggle for rights will be reflected in the final reform. 

© Qantara.de 2024