The Moroccan government has unveiled comprehensive reforms to its family code, known as the Mudawana, marking the first significant revisions in two decades. The reforms aim to enhance women’s rights in the context of balancing universal principles with the country’s Islamic traditions.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi and Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq, who presented a draft Mudawana with over 100 amendments addressing critical issues highlighted by women’s rights activists.
Key proposals in the reforms include:
- Strengthening women’s rights in child custody and guardianship.
- Allowing women to veto polygamy in marriage contracts, while imposing stricter limits on its practice.
- Simplifying and expediting divorce procedures, introducing joint custody of children, and ensuring the surviving spouse retains the marital home in the event of death.
- Enabling divorced women to retain custody of their children after remarriage.
- Maintaining the legal marriage age at 18 but restricting exceptions for underage marriage to a minimum age of 17.
The reforms, announced amid growing calls for gender equality, seek to align Morocco’s family law with both Islamic values and global human rights standards.
King Mohammed VI, endorsing the changes, emphasized the importance of principles such as justice, equality, and solidarity, urging for the code’s adoption through parliamentary approval. Activists view these reforms as a significant step toward advancing women’s rights in Morocco.