MOROCCO
A descendant of
the Prophet Muhammed, King Hassan II has been Morocco's ultimate
secular authority as well as its spiritual leader since 1961.
Despite a constitutional amendment in September 1996 which provides
for direct election of the House of Representatives, the King
still has the authority to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
The centralisation of power, as well as its ancient system of
patronage, has prevented Morocco from evolving a modern state
administration, and has earned it a notorious human rights record.
There is considerable opposition to the monarchy, from the legal
opposition as well as from fundamentalist groups that have been
banned from politics. Dissatisfaction also is growing among
the poor and unemployed in Morocco's urban slums.
Among the educated
classes, many feel that the King has obstructed the establishment
of a true constitutional monarchy and the rule of law. Paradoxically,
however, his reign is also viewed as a necessity, a safeguard
against far worse abuses of power. Fear of the rise of militant
Islamic fundamentalism, as happened in neighbouring Algeria,
is an essential element in the delicate and complex equation
of Moroccan politics.
The absence of a
clear state power structure that will outlive the king is thought
to be the biggest risk facing the country.1 The King's advancing age and his ill health have placed Morocco
in a precarious position, particularly since the King's son
and heir is not highly regarded. State officials are aware that
if economic conditions in Morocco do not improve, the Islamists
have a strong base of support for challenging the regime, particularly
among urban youth. Militant Islamism has been growing in popularity
among university graduates, a group whose rate of unemployment
is estimated to exceed thirty percent. To limit growing unrest
within the country, the King is attempting gradual democratic
reforms, although his efforts thus far have met with some suspicion
and have not galvanised support within the country. They have,
however, helped to change his image abroad and helped to consolidate
European economic support.
The West sees Morocco
as an important source of stability and pro-Western influence
in the Islamic world. After nearly two years of negotiations,
Morocco and the European Union concluded a bilateral agreement,
following Tunisia, Israel and Turkey, at the end of February
1996 to form a Global Euro-Mediterranean Partnership which will
eventually establish a free trade area between Europe and twelve
countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Analysts say
that the agreement challenges Morocco to modernise swiftly,
though it brings questionable concrete benefits for the foreseeable
future. The tough terms of the agreement reflect in part Morocco's
desperation to find solutions for its worsening economic conditions.
The worst drought
in the century cut grain production by eighty percent in 1995
and stimulated rural migration into large urban slums, where
unemployment is endemic.2
The drought has drawn attention to the country's overdependence
on agriculture, and to the fact that the economy has not sufficiently
diversified to sustain Morocco's rapidly growing population.
In little more than a decade, from 1982 to 1994, unemployment
has doubled, bringing it, by independent estimates, close to
twenty percent.3 Another concern is the country's ineffective
and extremely expensive public service. After debt servicing,
sixty-five percent of government expenditure goes to pay government
salaries.4
The majority of
the population is under twenty years of age and facing a severe
lack of educational and employment opportunities. Unemployment
among the young is the norm, and from Tangiers, illegal migrants
continue to cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Europe. Moroccan
authorities, already under fire from European governments for
the ever-increasing flow of kif or hashish into Europe, have
increased naval patrols to intercept people attempting to cross
the Straits by boat. In recognition that illegal migration will
not stop before economic conditions have improved, the authorities
have made it easier for Moroccans to obtain passports to look
outside the country for work. Worker remittances are already
the largest legal source of foreign exchange - surpassed only
by the illegal trade in kif. European countries, responding
to internal pressures of their own, have reacted to the illegal
flow of drugs and migrants by imposing strict visa regulations.
As this barrier rises, Moroccans turn increasingly toward the
Arab world for inspiration."5
The Moroccan Women's
Movement
The political and
social tensions within Morocco are nowhere better illustrated
than in the situation of women's organisations, which find themselves
in the contradictory position of criticising the King for human
rights abuses, for the slow pace of democratisation, and specifically
for dragging his heels on the issue of women's equality, but
also regarding themselves as ultimately dependent upon him for
their continued existence. The King supports, at least rhetorically,
a very gradual process of improving women's status. His self-proclaimed
role as 'protector' of women's rights, from a secular perspective,
has been a way to keep the issue of women's rights squarely
within the context of Islam and the shari'a. As Protector of
the Faithful, the King asserted his historical and religious
prerogative by championing the cause of Moroccan women. Whether
this is political wisdom or equivocation, the King's support
for women's rights helps to consolidate middle and upper class
support for his regime. One source stated that, like it or not,
women are pawns in the political manoeuvring of the King, vis
a vis the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
Some feminists in
Morocco wish to approach women's rights issues by calling attention
to the need for a more modern interpretation of Islamic law.
They are attempting to heighten awareness that Islamic law has
been re-interpreted and modernised in other areas, most notably
business practices, and that shari'a law also needs to evolve.
One of their main concerns is that this very important interpretative
activity not be monopolised by interests that disguise paternalism
in the cloak of religion. Other feminists maintain a secular
approach to women's equality, arguing simply that women's status
should be compatible with international and human rights laws.6
CONSTITUTIONAL AND
LEGAL DISCRIMINATION - Articles 1, 2 and 3
The 1992 Constitution
The 1992 Constitution,
like its predecessor, does not contain a provision unequivocally
barring discrimination against women. While it states that all
Moroccans are equal before the law (Article 5), the value of
such a provision as a principle of non-discrimination is highly
dependent on how it is construed and applied in a particular
context. Article 8 of the 1992 constitution states that men
and women shall enjoy equal political rights, but there are
no other specific references to women's equality in other spheres.
By omission, the inference is that, where women's rights are
concerned, the guarantee of non-discrimination in Article 5
is restricted. Thus, the Moroccan ulama, or religious leaders,
assert that the personal status laws do not violate the constitutional
guarantee of equality, because the constitution indirectly allows
for the unequal treatment of women in the sphere of personal
status.7
CEDAW
Morocco ratified
the CEDAW Convention in 1993 with reservations, stating that
the provisions of Article 2 would apply to the extent that they
would not conflict with the shari'a, and that Article 16 regarding
marriage and its dissolution was also considered to be incompatible
with shari'a law.
The Mudawwana
One of the major
grievances of Moroccan feminists has been the Mudawwana, or
personal status code. Morocco and Tunisia share the legacy of
Islamic jurisprudence of the Maliki school and the French legal
system. The Tunisian Code of Personal Status, enacted soon after
independence in 1956, introduced dramatic reforms that were
more advanced than the laws of many contemporary Western countries.
The Moroccan Mudawwana, on the other hand, which came into force
two years after independence from France in 1958, reinstated
many principles of Islamic law and reinforced the traditional
Moroccan patriarchal order.8
For some time Morocco's
women's organisations have pressed for reforms to the Mudawwana
which would bring it into conformity with international human
rights.9 In 1992 a campaign
was launched by the organisation Union de l'action f�minin (UAF)
in which a million signatures were collected on a petition demanding
reforms of the personal status laws. These demands were given
impetus by the arrest, sensational trial and execution by firing
squad in 1993 of Mohamed Mustafa Tabet, the police chief of
Casablanca. Tabet had engaged in rape and sexual violence for
many years against women he picked up in the streets. The case
added outrage to the political pressures for reforming the personal
status laws. The King asserted, however, that as Protector and
Commander of the Faithful, it was his job to interpret Islamic
law and to resolve the problems raised by the defects in the
Mudawwana.10 Sources say
that most activists were very disappointed with the way their
efforts were hijacked. While the King invited women to participate,
the reform commission he set up included only men, including
religious scholars.
The reforms of 1993
have modernised the personal status laws to some degree, but
critics say that they do not amount to much more than window
dressing. Not only do the fundamental inequities in marriage
and family law remain, but the reforms in themselves are said
to have questionable practical consequence. Particularly in
the rural areas, where the literacy rate is very low, it would
take considerable political will to make these legal changes
known and enforced. In both urban and rural areas, the court
system is overwhelmed, and the adouls who hear most cases related
to the family code are functionaries who are not trained in
the law or in jurisprudence. Even if the adouls are aware of
changes in the law, they can and do easily ignore them. [see
section on Article 16 for further discussion of the changes
to marriage and family laws. ]
Feminists contend
that Moroccan women are in an incongruous situation. One source
explained it in the following way: if a woman has a decent and
fair-minded husband or father, she can pursue her ambitions
outside the home and enjoy an equitable family life. However,
if she has the misfortune to marry a petty tyrant, then she
has very little recourse in law to counter his authority. Since
traditional Islamic laws on business, finance, crime and other
matters have been modernised, Moroccan feminists argue that
there is no reason for the personal and family laws not to evolve
also.11 They argue that
a number of existing provisions of the Mudawwana , which may
have accorded with traditional society, have become outmoded
as the Moroccan family has increasingly been transformed by
urbanisation and by radically altered economic and social conditions.12 In purely practical terms it is increasingly important for
a woman to have the unconditional right to work outside the
home. Theoretically, Article 726 of the revised Code of Contracts
and Obligations gives them this right, but in practice, and
in terms of the Mudawwana, the husband retains the right to
demand obedience from his wife. With high rates of male unemployment,
and male migration for work, women have taken on increasing
economic responsibilities. There is practical need, independent
of the appeal to international human rights norms, to equip
girls, both legally and in terms of education and training,
to survive in modern industrialised society. 13
VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN - Articles 3, 5, 6, 12, 15 and 16
Established in April
1995, Le Centre d'�coute et d'orientation is one of the first
Moroccan organisations to offer free legal and psychological
support to female victims of abuse (it has a 24 hour hot line)
and to provide education about women's legal rights.14 Despite the fact that several women's groups
have been struggling for some time to raise public awareness,
the problem of violence against women is only beginning to be
brought before the public. Gender based violence and sexual
harassment cut across all classes of society and stem from women's
subordinate position within the family and from the institutionalisation
of this subordination in the personal status laws.
POLITICAL AND PUBLIC
LIFE - Article 7
As mentioned previously,
Article 8 of the 1992 Moroccan Constitution explicitly provides
that men and women shall enjoy equal political rights, and that
men and women are entitled to vote on the same basis. However,
according to one Moroccan law professor, this may be the only
area where Moroccan law is actually ahead of the society, because
in practice, women have made few inroads into the male-dominated
political order.15
NATIONALITY - Article
9
As the first Moroccan
Government report indicates, a wife of Moroccan nationality
may not confer her nationality on a foreign-born husband. (CEDAW/C/MOR/1,
Para 96). Also, it is through the husband that the wife and
children obtain civil status. According to the United States
Department of State Human Rights Reports for 1995, men are normally
registered at local government offices; their wives and unmarried
children are included in this registration, which confers civil
status. Civil status is necessary to obtain a birth certificate,
passport, or marriage license. If a father does not register
his child, the child is without civil status and the benefits
of citizenship. It is possible for an individual to self-register,
but the process is long and cumbersome.16
Orphans of both
sexes lack civil status, a situation which can result in dire
circumstances, including adoptive servitude, which is particularly
common for young orphan girls. [see Article 15 for further discussion
of civil status regarding orphans and the children of unwed
mothers.]
The practice described
above should be of particular concern to the CEDAW Committee,
as the Government report mentions the expanded use of the national
identity card.
EMPLOYMENT - Article
11
Moroccan women have
one of the highest levels of employment in the Arab world. Male
migration to urban areas and to EC countries for waged jobs,
and the worsening economic situation have increased women's
reliance upon cash incomes. The percentage of female workers
is greatest in agriculture, manufacturing and domestic service.
Agriculture, which contributes only about twenty percent of
overall production, continues to be the largest source of employment,
accounting for nearly half the active population.17 [see Article 14 for a discussion of rural women and agriculture.]
As the Government
report states (paragraph 278), half the active women in the
urban areas work in the industrial sector, mainly in the textile
industry. The report also confirms that the majority of women
who work in the industrial sector do contract work at home.
Reliance on an export-oriented development strategy has increased
the demand in industry for home-based work, which is typically
low-paid and lacks social or labour protections.18
Women workers in
the textile industry
A recent article
in a Moroccan daily newspaper publicised the results of the
first study on women in the clothing industry - referred to
ironically as "le grand 'miracle' du textile marocain" (the
great "miracle" of the Moroccan textile industry) - undertaken
by the Democratic League for the Rights of Women (la Ligue d�mocratique
pour les droits de la femme ) in April and May 1996. In general,
women workers in this industry do not belong to a labour union,
they are young, from about thirty-two to as little as twelve
years of age, and unmarried. The study, which included about
sixty clothing factories in Casablanca, revealed that many workers
are earning less than the minimum wage, and most have no social
security, pension or other benefits. Half of these workers receive
the same salary for day or night work. Over sixty-four percent
have no worker accident insurance. Over thirty percent of the
women interviewed complained of insulting treatment from their
supervisors, and at least seven percent said they had received
physical abuse of some kind. The article emphasised that this
study was exclusively concerned with registered, formal sector
enterprises, and that it confirmed the impression of the general
public that infractions of the labour code in industry have
become more the practice than the exception.19
Child labour
Sources repeatedly
mentioned the problem of child labour, particularly in regard
to girl children. Girls are put to work for wealthy families
as domestics, mainly due to lack of opportunities in the rural
areas and increasing economic difficulties for poor families.
Promised education and a better life, they are often subject
to horrible working conditions and live in a state of indentured
servitude.20
Orphan girls in
particular are subject to 'adoptive servitude,' in which they
are adopted by a family for the express purpose of providing
labour. There are reports of widespread physical abuse of these
girls. The government, as well as non-governmental human rights
groups, do little to monitor or regulate this practice, because
it is considered a better alternative than keeping the girls
in orphanages. According to one source, most people feel that
unwanted and abandoned children are better off with families
that can at least give them some protection, because they do
not have civil or social status.
RURAL WOMEN - Article
14
"Moroccan identity
is difficult to fix, changing according to one's geo-political
and linguistic vantage point. Although Arabic is the national
language, there is a large Berber population, speaking three
different regional dialects: Tamezight, Tachilhit, and Taraffit.
The recent Moroccan link with the western Sahara makes the Saharan
presence and dialect an important one to reckon with as well.
Extra-cultural influences are also varied; there are two Spanish
enclaves in the north - Melilla and Ceuta - and emigration to
both Spain and France continues to have a significant impact
on the Moroccan culture and economy. Urbanisation scrambles
these points of identity, but doesn't erase them; rather, urban
areas provide a striking example of the coexistence of peoples
and languages as they exchange both goods and social identities."21
To speak generally
of the problems of rural women in Morocco is very difficult,
if not useless, since there are such dramatic differences among
different areas of the country and even between villages. However,
it may be possible to make one generalisation - that rural women
are being left behind, both literally and in terms of their
development needs. Their men are going overseas, or migrating
to do non-agricultural work, so rural women are in critical
need of the legal and practical tools that will help them to
survive where they are.
Most importantly,
rural women do not have control over money. Legally, they can
have title over land, but they are rarely in a position to do
so, or to use that land as collateral to obtain credit. Women
are in dire need of alternative ways to access credit. A viable
system of credit and credit programmes is needed that would
enable women to capitalise small enterprises. Women in credit
programmes also need technology and business assistance, however,
to succeed.
Traditional agriculture
The majority of
rural women live in small, subsistence households where some
combination of livestock, wheat and barley provides the main
sustenance and income. Wherever sheep can be kept, women traditionally
have made extra income by weaving rugs, cushions and blankets.
Often women textile producers belong to co-operatives, but the
degree of autonomy women have in producing, selling and controlling
the cash they earn depends considerably on where they live.
There is a distinct difference between the households on the
coastal side of the country, where women are freer in their
activities and in their ability to dispense with their own incomes
than they are further east, where women's individual freedom
decreases. One source said that in the east of the country there
are areas where women never venture outside their villages.
The farm sector
in general is undergoing dramatic changes. Divided households
are no longer uncommon. There are many families without a male
head of household, because he has gone to another area, usually
urban, or as far away as Europe, to work in non-agricultural
labour. Often these migrant workers send home remittances. Many
are involved in smuggling of various kinds.
The overwhelming
majority of rural women are illiterate. Rural schools are overcrowded,
and there is a lack of qualified teachers, as there is in urban
slums. In some areas, particularly in the eastern parts of the
country, it is absolutely necessary to build more schools so
that girls, who cannot venture outside their villages, will
be able to attend school.
As a result of state
restructuring throughout the past decade, rural health services,
which were never highly developed in Morocco, have stagnated.
The focus now is on community-based health care. A system of
mobile health services for rural areas has been developed, but
it is unknown how far-reaching these services are, or what percentage
of rural families can afford them. Sources say that rural clinics
are few, and medicines are very expensive.
The agricultural
export sector
The agricultural
export sector includes horticultural products such as tomatoes,
melons, roses, gladiolas and citrus. These areas of production,
although not terribly large in terms of land or labour, constitute
one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange. Because
citrus growing has been going on for a long time, there is improved
efficiency in production, and therefore improved conditions
of work and even wages. (The workers in this sector are thought
to be earning minimum wage.) In the newer export sectors, where
flowers and certain vegetables are grown for European markets,
conditions are worse.
Eighty-two percent
of agricultural export labour is female. This includes an overwhelming
majority of females in packing and other jobs related to food
sorting, packaging and preparations for transport - where women
have traditionally worked - but there is now a growing majority
of women on the farm or production side as well. Greenhouse
agriculture, as export agriculture is called, has been very
good for the educated women who are trained as agricultural
technicians and who are getting good jobs on farms. In some
respects, for the itinerant female agricultural workers, greenhouse
agriculture has been an advantage also, in that they now can
work about 200 days a year, which is more than they can work
with traditional food crops. However, the wages are very low.
The average female
worker in this sector is similar to the female workers one finds
elsewhere in the world working in export agriculture. They are
mainly single women, many of whom still live with their families.
In a few areas, such as Agadir, women come from all over the
country, and these are often older, mainly divorced women. They
sleep in crowded workers quarters, on pallets on the floor,
and travel from one packing house to another, always doing casual
labour, usually for less than minimum wage.
EQUALITY BEFORE
THE LAW - Article 15
Civil status
Civil status for
women and children is conferred through the husband/father.
As the Moroccan government report clearly states, natural filiation
through the father does not exist. A 'natural' child can never
be attached to his/her father, by either the father's voluntary
or forced acknowledgement. "Natural affiliation takes effect
only between the child and the mother" (Article 83 of the mudawwana).
An unmarried mother may give her name to her child only if she
obtains the written authorisation of her father or her brothers.
Abandonment of children
may be the only alternative for unmarried women and girls who
engage in or are forced into sexual relations. The Feminine
Solidarity Association in Morocco, created in 1985, works for
single mothers who are rejected by both family and society.
According to the law, single mothers can be arrested and put
in jail because the law forbids adultery and to have children
outside of marriage.22 However, this law is seldom applied. Nonetheless,
the social predicament of abandoned children in Morocco is very
serious.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
LAW - Article 16
Marriage
As the Government
report states, the 1993 reform is intended to ensure the consent
of the woman to a marriage. In actuality, the reform applies
only to one specific situation: an adult woman, who has no father,
is free to contract her own marriage. However, even in this
limited case, the social norm would discourage most women from
doing so. Also, because the legal system is very disorganised,
in practice the adoul , or functionary, may choose to ignore
the new law and refuse to legally register the marriage unless
the woman brings a male relative. Also, although the law says
that the wali or guardian shall, in no case, have the power
to compel marriage, there are many subtle forms of social and
family constraints that can subvert the intended protection
of the law.
Divorce
There are still
three kinds of divorce in the reformed Moroccan family code.
Repudiation, which is the prerogative of men only, remains in
place, but with some new restrictions. A practical problem that
limits the importance of the reform concerning repudiation is
that the courts are terribly overcrowded, and even the most
competent magistrates must make very quick decisions. The other
forms are judicial divorce, which a woman can obtain under very
limited circumstances, and a third form of divorce which is
called 'khol'e' and which effectively involves a woman 'buying'
her freedom. Khol'e , repudiation by compensation, is regarded
by women as a measure of last resort. It is obviously not available
anyway to the majority of Moroccan women.
A woman can obtain
a judicial divorce on the grounds of brutality, although the
burden of proof is upon her, and it is very difficult to establish
a clear case that the husband inflicted specific injuries upon
her. Abandonment is another ground for divorce, but a clause
remains in the family code that allows a husband to reappear
within a one year period to show sufficient proof that he is
committed to the marriage.
Sources note that
the reforms mentioned in the Government report are, upon close
observation, modest and easily circumvented. Repudiation is
still legal and remains a male prerogative. Women don't have
the right to object to repudiation. The difference is that now
the wife must be summoned, the repudiation must take place in
the presence of a Qadi or magistrate, and repudiation, in principle,
should be compensated. Critics say that in practice, the reforms
are easy to ignore. For example, a husband can pay off the summoner
so that the wife fails to appear before the Qadi.
Polygamy
The reform concerning
polygamy has to do with notification, though this still does
not give the wife any real right to object. The intention of
the reform is apparently to protect women from unknowingly marrying
men who intend to maintain 'hidden families.' Sources say that
the instances of men keeping separate households are not uncommon.
Polygamy, while statistically said to be only about five percent
of marriages, is probably much higher.
Endnotes:
1
David White and Roula Khalaf, "Survey of Morocco (1): Challenges
loom as barrier come down-The agreement with the European Union,
initialled last month, is a crucial milestone in the country's
economic and political development," The Financial Times, 19 December,
1995. back 2
"Drought Drives Moroccans From Farms to Cities," Associated
Press Service, quoted in Tulsa World, 28 December, 1995.
back
3
"Drought Drives Moroccans From Farms to Cities" back
4
David White and Roula Khalaf back
5
Huband, Mark, "Port Lures Africans Longing for Europe Stuck
in Tangier, as Morocco cracks down on smuggling across strait,"
Christian Science Monitor, 3 November, 1995. back
6
IWRAW wishes to thank the Women's Rights Project at Human
Rights Watch for providing information concerning women's organisations
and changes in the personal status laws in Morocco. back
7
Ann Mayer, "Moroccans - Citizens or Subjects? A People
At the Crossroads," New York University Journal of International
Law and Politics, Fall, 1993. back
8
Mayer, Ann "Reform of Personal Status Laws in North Africa:
A Problem of Islamic or Mediterranean Laws?" Middle East Journal,
Volume 49, No. 3, Summer 1995. back
9
"Reform of Personal Status Laws in North Africa" back
10
" Moroccans - Citizens or Subjects?" back
11
Borst, Barbara, "Major Move Being Made to Gain Full Equality,"
Inter Press Service, Global Information Network, 24 May, 1995.
back
12
Ann Mayer back
13
"Reform of Personal Status Laws" back
14
Zineb El Ouardighi, "Premi�re forme de soutien aux femmes
agress�es," Le Matin [du Sahara et du Maghreb], 19 April, 1995.
back
15
"Moroccans - Citizens or Subjects?" footnote number 135.
back
16
United States Department of State, Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices for 1995, (Washington: Department of State).
back
17
Khalaf, Roula "Survey of Morocco (2): A more coherent strategy
is needed - Rapid changes are now underway and reliance on the
private sector is growing," The Financial Times, 19 December,
1995. back
18
Simai, Mihaly, Moghadam, V. and A. Kuddo (eds.) Global
Employment: An International Investigation into the Future of
Work, (Zed Books: London) 1995 vol.1 126-127 back
19
Mokhtar Ghailani, "Le grand 'miracle' du textile marocain,"
Lib�ration, 29/30 June, 1996. back
20
US State Department back
21
Deborah A. Kapchan, Gender on the Market: Moroccan Women
and the Revoicing of Tradition, (University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1996), p 7. back
22
Oyog, Angeline, "Projects for Women Get Recognition and
Cash From France," Inter Press Service , Global Information
Network, December 20, 1995. back
|
