Morocco is aiming to grant women more rights over child custody and inheritance, as well as the power of veto over polygamous marriage, in the first review of its Islamic-based family code in 20 years.
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Reforms were proposed on Tuesday to Morocco’s family law, as announced by the country’s justice and Islamic affairs ministers.
Women’s rights campaigners have long been pushing for a revision of regulations governing the rights of women and children within the family in Morocco, where Islam is the state religion.
The reforms will address issues including limits on underage marriage and women’s inheritance rights, which activists have said are not guaranteed under the current code, introduced in 2004.
It comes after two years of consultations with civil society, as well as judicial and religious parties, and will require parliamentary and royal approval.
The draft code proposes more than 100 amendments, including one which allows women to stipulate opposition to polygamy in a marriage contract, justice minister Abdellatif Ouahbi told reporters.
In the absence of such opposition, a husband can still take a second wife under certain circumstances in Morocco, such as the first wife’s infertility. The goal is to put more restrictions on polygamy.
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The reform also aims to simplify and shorten divorce procedures, and considers child custody a shared right between spouses.
If passed, it would give either spouse the right to retain the marital home in the event of the other’s death.
Parental guardianship, previously granted automatically to fathers, would be shared by both parents if they separate. Divorced women will be allowed to retain child custody upon remarriage.
The code will also restrict exceptions for underage marriage to 17 years, maintaining the legal marriage age of 18.
The revised code does not, however, abolish the Islamic-based inheritance rule which grants a man twice the share of a woman, but it will allow individuals to gift any of their assets to their female heirs, according to the justice minister.
Inheritances between spouses from different religions can only occur through wills or gifts.
Moroccan women’s rights defenders have pushed for equal inheritance laws for years.
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The amended code has to be submitted to parliament for approval, and the minister set no timeline.
King Mohammed VI, the country’s supreme authority, said on Monday that it should be underpinned by “the principles of justice, equality, solidarity and harmony” with Islamic precepts and universal values, to protect the Moroccan family.
The reform was first ordered by the monarch in 2022, and a committee tasked with drafting the amendments was formed in September last year. It submitted its recommendations in March.
Known as “Mudawana”, Morocco’s current family law was adopted in 2004 and was seen as progressive at the time, although women’s rights defenders have deemed it inadequate.
(with newswires)
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