Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa - Morocco

Population: 30,400,000
GDP Per Capita (PPP): $3,810
Economy: Capitalist-statist
Ranking on UN HDI: 125 out of 177
Polity: Traditional monarchy and limited parliament
Literacy: Male 63.3% / Female 38.3%
Percent Women Economically Active: 41.8%
Date of Women's Suffrage: 1963
Women's Fertility Rate: 2.7
Percent Urban/Rural: Urban 57% / Rural 43%

COUNTRY RATINGS FOR MOROCCO

Nondiscrimination and Access to Justice: 3.2
Autonomy, Security, and Freedom of the Person: 3.2
Economic Rights and Equal Opportunity: 3.1
Political Rights and Civic Voice: 3.0
Social and Cultural Rights: 3.0

(Scale of 1 to 5: 1 represents the lowest and 5 the highest level of freedom women have to exercise their rights)

INTRODUCTION

Morocco became a hereditary monarchy headed by King Mohammed V after gaining independence from France in 1956. King Hassan II ascended the throne five years later upon the death of his father. Morocco's constitution, which was adopted in 1962, provides for multiparty democratic institutions, fundamental freedoms, and the principle of separation of powers. Successive revisions to the constitution created a Constitutional Council in 1992 and a bicameral legislature in 1996. The king continues to maintain supreme executive power under the 1996 constitution and has the duty of appointing the prime minister and the cabinet. The bicameral parliament consists of a lower house, the Chamber of Representatives, which is directly elected, and an upper house, the Chamber of Counselors, whose members are indirectly elected for nine-year terms.

After the death of King Hassan in July 1999, the throne was passed to his son Mohammed, who upon assuming power launched an extensive program of economic and political liberalization. Elections have become more transparent, and several mechanisms have been put in place to strengthen the constitutional state and reduce corruption. The king also released thousands of prisoners and allowed exiled opposition figures to return to Morocco. Nevertheless, while respect for public freedoms has improved both in law and in practice, press freedoms and freedom of association remain somewhat restricted.

Morocco's population in 2003 was an estimated 30.4 million. More than half of Moroccans live in cities (57 percent), and the country has an average annual growth rate of 1.5 percent. Close to 99 percent of Moroccans are Sunni Muslim; in addition, there are small populations of Jews and Christians who are free to practice their religions.

In spite of recent progress in the political realm, Morocco still faces a number of economic and social challenges. The country has a market-based economy with a growing manufacturing sector, a sizable services sector, and a diverse agricultural and fisheries sector. However, a low rate of economic growth of 2.6 percent on average, combined with high illiteracy, low school attendance rates, and poor access to basic social services, has resulted in extreme poverty and unemployment. About one in five Moroccans live below the poverty level, and the national unemployment level is estimated at 12.5 percent.

Significant measures have been taken to improve the status of women in Morocco in recent years. Efforts to reduce gender discrimination within the legal system produced changes in the country's criminal code, labor code, and code of personal status (CSP). The CSP, also known as the Mudawana and based on the Malikite school of Islamic law, governs the status of women under civil law. The revised CSP now upholds the principle of equality between men and women and confirms joint responsibility for the family. Women's representation in decision-making positions has also improved. In 2002, women held 10.8 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Representatives. Some demographic changes have also benefited women's health, such as a decline in fertility rates and a rise in the age of women contracting their first marriage. Nevertheless, women continue to face violence and societal discrimination in many aspects of their lives. Multiple inequalities persist between men and women and between Morocco's urban and rural populations in terms of access to education, employment, and health care.

It is still too soon to evaluate the impact of recent legislative reforms. Positive legislative changes, however, will only become truly significant if they are incorporated into the day-to-day lives of Morocco's millions of women and girls. This remains a major challenge for a society in the middle of an incomplete transition toward democratization, integration into the global economy, and urbanization – not to mention a country torn between the forces of regression and the forces of progress.

NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Morocco's legal system is based on both Islamic law, as inspired by the Malikite school of jurisprudence, and the French and Spanish civil law systems. Family courts adjudicate issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody for Muslim citizens. The promulgation of the new family law in 2004 marked historic changes in family laws, much to the credit of the growing activism of civil society, in particular Moroccan women's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Despite recent progress, many Moroccan laws and policies still discriminate against women and deny their equality. While Article 8 of the constitution of 1996 guarantees women equal political rights with men, the constitution does not provide women with the equal enjoyment of civil rights. Furthermore, Article 8 of the constitution provides for equality of citizens "before the law," rather than "in law," a subtle but important distinction that in no way guarantees equal rights for women and men.

Morocco's laws are progressively becoming less discriminatory toward women and more protective of human rights and public freedoms. Although the gender perspective has not yet fully been integrated into all government policies, the government machinery has generally become more sensitive to the needs of its women and girl citizens. In 1998, the government created a ministerial department responsible for the status of women. The state has also established programs over the past six years to improve young women's access to education, decrease maternal mortality, improve women's health, and combat violence against women. In practice, however, the application of positive measures is subject to several constraints.

Women are still not considered full citizens in many sectors of the law. For example, traditional notaries still require male witnesses for some documents, such as establishing proof of marriage or paternity. Additionally, Moroccan women do not have the same rights to citizenship as Moroccan men. According to Section 6 of the nationality code of 1958, unlike Moroccan men, Moroccan women married to foreigners cannot automatically transfer their nationality to their children. A Moroccan woman married to a foreign man can transfer her nationality to her children only in cases in which the father is unknown or is stateless, or if the child is born in Morocco and he/she declares Moroccan nationality two years prior to reaching the age of majority. Moreover, while the foreign wife of a Moroccan man can easily obtain Moroccan citizenship, the foreign husband of a Moroccan woman does not benefit from the same conveniences and must resort to the normal naturalization procedure (a long process with uncertain outcomes).

Significant measures have been taken over the past few years to facilitate women's access to the justice system. Section 336 of the code of criminal procedure (CPP), repealed in 2002, had required a woman wishing to bring a complaint against her husband to obtain authorization from the courts. Additional measures to increase women's access to justice include: free court costs for women who are divorced and/or are abandoned by their husbands; the creation of a fund to guarantee payment of support pursuant to an enforceable judgment; and the creation of family courts and the training of family court judges, in connection with the new CSP.

Revisions to Morocco's criminal code in 2003 also helped to improve women's legal status by eliminating unequal sentencing in adultery cases. Article 418 of the penal code had granted extenuating circumstances to a husband who murders, injures, or beats his wife and/or her partner, when catching them in flagrante delicto while committing adultery. While this article has not been repealed, the penalty for committing this crime is at least now the same for both genders. Furthermore, revisions to Article 491 of the penal code now permit the state to sue either a husband or a wife guilty of adultery while the spouse is out of the country. Previously, only an unfaithful wife could be sued in these circumstances.

A newly added provision to the penal code now provides for heavier sentences in cases in which one spouse voluntarily inflicts blows and wounds on the other spouse, including cases of recidivism. Furthermore, Article 446 has been revised to authorize health care professionals to bypass professional secrecy in cases of violence between spouses or violence against a woman.

Nonetheless, a number of laws under the penal code still discriminate against women. Article 475, paragraph 2, stipulates that in cases in which a minor girl has been abducted, all legal proceedings and the enforcement of sentences will cease if the abductor and the girl subsequently marry. The abductor can be prosecuted only on the basis of an action brought by persons who have the capacity to request annulment of the marriage, and he can be convicted only after the marriage has been annulled. Additionally, while not provided for by law, victims' families may offer rapists the opportunity to marry their victims in order to preserve family "honor."

Articles 494 and 496, which were not amended during the 2003 penal code revisions, specify punishments for anyone who hides or abducts a married woman. However, the law does not take into account conditions under which a woman might choose to hide or leave her husband, such as domestic abuse. In such a case, those who give an abused wife shelter also become liable under this provision of the law. Sentences under these articles range from two to five years' imprisonment. Such laws serve to reinforce women's inferior status and continue to support the power of husbands over their wives in the social and legal systems of Morocco.

The criminal code provides for severe punishments for rape and other forms of sexual violence; however, due to the difficulties in establishing proof of rape and the taboos surrounding this issue, women tend not to report these crimes. In Moroccan criminal law, rape is regarded as indecent assault or public indecency, not as a crime against the person. In some cases, the courts have treated rape committed against minor girls as corruption of a minor or as sexual relations outside marriage. Marital rape is not considered a crime under Moroccan criminal law. On the other hand, sexual relations outside marriage are penalized by Article 490 of the penal code, which imposes a one-month to one-year sentence for such an act; such relations can only be proven by confession or if the person is caught in the act. Nevertheless, an unmarried woman's pregnancy is proof of sexual relations and criminal prosecution of pregnant unmarried women remains on the books. The law does not establish the fault of her male partner, however.

Any citizen may normally avail himself or herself of remedies before all jurisdictions, including Morocco's administrative tribunals. These tribunals are responsible for examining disputes resulting from arbitrary decisions made by an administrative authority, as well as complaints of discrimination and requests for compensation. However, many Moroccan women lack awareness of such legal mechanisms and the ways in which they can gain access to these remedies.

Morocco ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993 but adopted reservations on Articles 2, 9(2), 15(4), 16, and 29. Article 2 commits state parties to condemn discrimination against women in all its forms and agree to pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination against women. Morocco's additional reservations to CEDAW concern women's equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children; equal rights under the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence; and the state's commitment to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.

Morocco's reservations to CEDAW serve chiefly to nullify the convention's objectives and purpose. While Morocco has ratified most international conventions related to women, it has not adopted the Optional Protocol to CEDAW. The Optional Protocol would allow Moroccan women who had exhausted all domestic remedies to file complaints of discrimination with an international committee of CEDAW experts.

Moroccan women's rights groups and NGOs are free to advocate for women's rights, create associations, and receive foreign funding without state control. The first association for the defense of women's rights, the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM), was established in 1985. Several other Moroccan women's NGOs that started as advocacy organizations in the second half of the 1980s have become pressure and proposal groups, forming broad coalitions with unions, human rights organizations, and the media. Women's NGOs repeatedly prod the government to drop its reservations to CEDAW by preparing evaluative reports of state progress in implementing CEDAW, issuing public statements, and organizing press conferences and women's rights training sessions and seminars.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should amend the constitution to include the principle of equality between men and women in all rights and responsibilities.
2. The government should provide judges, police personnel, and medical personnel with more rigorous training on the country's new legal provisions related to women's rights.
3. The government should abolish the prosecution of unmarried pregnant women, amend its penal code to criminalize marital rape, and abolish laws that criminalize those who assist married women.
4. The government should remove all reservations to CEDAW and take steps to implement it locally by bringing national laws in conformity with CEDAW.

AUTONOMY, SECURITY, AND FREEDOM OF THE PERSON

The Moroccan constitution establishes Islam as the official state religion and designates the king as Commander of the Faithful and Defender of the Faith. Article 6 of the constitution guarantees freedom of worship for all, and the government for the most part respects this right. However, in practice, some restrictions do exist. Moroccan Muslim citizens who convert to other religions or adopt an Islamic tradition other than the Malikite rite generally face social ostracism. The Moroccan CSP places further restrictions on Moroccan Muslim women, who, unlike Muslim men, are forbidden to marry a non-Muslim.

Regulatory provisions that prohibited women from traveling or having a passport without authorization from their husbands/guardians were repealed in 1994. However, in reality, women's freedom of movement remains inhibited by social limitations and traditions. Many government officials still require a woman to seek her husband's authorization to obtain a passport. Government passport authorities sometimes oblige unmarried women who have reached the age of majority to produce a "certificate of good conduct" or authorization from their father in order to travel.

Since the promulgation of a series of family laws in 1957 and 1958, the CSP has governed the status of Moroccan women in civil law. While some minimal reforms of the code were adopted in 1993, it has only been after 20 years of mobilization by the women's movement that revisions of the CSP in 2004 finally enabled Morocco to take a significant step forward in the direction of democracy and modernity.

A major development in the CSP is the granting of equality between men and women in terms of family responsibility; the family is now placed under the joint responsibility of the husband and the wife. The rights and duties of spouses under the older version of the CSP had obliged a husband to provide for his wife, while a wife was responsible for taking care of the household, breast-feeding the children, remaining faithful, obeying her husband, and respecting his family. The new CSP abolishes all these provisions and replaces them with a single article that provides for the rights and duties of both spouses without discrimination. A woman's duty to obey her husband was eliminated in favor of equality of rights and duties between the spouses.

Additional changes to the CSP increased the minimum age for marriage for women from 15 to 18 to equal that of men. Furthermore, matrimonial guardianship has been made optional for women of the age of majority. In other words, the marriage will still be valid without the presence of a matrimonial guardian.

Although polygamy is still allowed under the new code, it is now subject to draconian legal conditions and a judge's authorization. New restrictions stipulate that a man's first wife must be informed of her husband's intention to take another wife, and the latter must be informed that her future husband is already married. A woman also now has the right to ask her future husband not to take another wife and to give her the right to have the marriage dissolved if this agreement is not respected. Polygamy is forbidden in cases that might result in unfair treatment between the wives, and a court will only authorize polygamy if it is proven necessary and if the husband possesses sufficient resources to support both families and guarantee all rights, including household allowance, lodging, and equality, to both wives.

Divorce under the new code has been regulated in such a way as to limit abuses resulting from the husband's exercise of repudiation. All types of divorce are subject to a reconciliation procedure by a judge and must be decreed within six months. The most important new changes, however, are the options for consensual divorce and divorce due to irreconcilable differences, which allow women to divorce under the same conditions as men.

Nevertheless, problems remain in the family laws for women and with the khul' divorce, whereby a woman must provide financial or other compensation to her husband. This form of divorce, maintained under the new 2004 laws, has become a means for blackmailing women seeking a divorce. New changes in 2004 stipulate that in cases in which the spouses cannot agree on the amount of the compensation, the judge must decide.

Women's custody rights under the new family laws guarantee that a Moroccan mother no longer automatically loses her custody rights if she remarries or moves to a town other than the town where her husband resides. However, a mother may still lose custody of her children over the age of seven if she remarries and her husband requests custody; she may obtain legal guardianship of her minor children only in cases in which the father is deceased or legally incompetent.

Slavery no longer exists in Morocco, but some categories of women and girls live or work under conditions that may be likened to slavery. Morocco is a country of origin, transit point, and destination for trafficked persons who originate from sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab region, and Asia. Some Moroccan victims are lured into Europe and then forced into drug trafficking, coerced labor, and sexual exploitation. Moroccan women are also trafficked to the Gulf region. Internal trafficking also exists, with child domestics and underage girls sold into marriage.

The employment of young girls as domestic workers continues to be a serious problem. For example, 3.6 percent of households in the Casablanca region employ a minor domestic girl, and nearly 60 percent of them are under 15 years of age. A 2001 study performed by the Moroccan League for the Protection of Children and UNICEF reported that 45 percent of household employees under the age of 18 were between the ages of 10 and 12, and 26 percent were under the age of 10. The legal age for employment was only recently raised from 12 to 15 in January of 2002. Parents have been known to contract their daughters as maids and retain their earned salaries.

The Moroccan government enacted new anti-trafficking laws in 2003 and prohibited the selling of child brides under the new CSP, but it has not yet signed or ratified the 2003 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Violence against women remains a problem in Morocco and is sometimes justified in social or even religious terms. While the Ministry of Justice is working to publish annual reports on violence against women based on the cases heard by the courts, these incidents represent only a small percentage of the overall number of cases. The lack of data on violence is exacerbated by the silence of the victims. The obligation imposed on victims to produce medical certificates and witnesses hinders victims of domestic violence from coming forward, due to the fact that this form of violence often does not involve the presence of eyewitnesses. The government has pursued a policy of neglect on this issue, failing to ensure that enough people in the medical professions, police, and judiciary are adequately prepared to address cases of violence against women. However, some large hospitals in major cities such as Casablanca and Rabat have begun to set up units to help women victims of violence.

A study conducted within NGO-operated victim assistance centers revealed that eight out of ten cases of violence against women who come to the centers are perpetrated by individuals close to the victims. Law enforcement officials reportedly do not respond adequately to complaints of domestic violence and continue to view domestic violence as a private matter. A poll taken of 1,500 people reported that 45.3 percent of respondents found it legitimate for husbands to use violence against their wives in certain circumstances.

From 2000 to 2002, the Ministry of Women's Affairs worked with government departments and Moroccan women's NGOs to draw up a national strategy against violence. While changes to criminal legislation have strengthened some protections for women against violence, violent practices against women in the public and private sphere continue to be tolerated, including sexual harassment, violence against domestic workers (especially young girls), and violence against unmarried mothers and their children.

Taboos on openly discussing violence against women have declined, however, as the problem is increasingly being addressed and debated in the media and within society. Moroccan women's NGOs have helped to break the silence surrounding violence and other degrading treatment suffered by women by organizing symbolic courts and radio campaigns on violence against women. Several Moroccan and international NGOs advocate for the prevention of violence against women and for the protection of women victims. Centers provide support services, legal aid, and information.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should reform laws that remain discriminatory towards women, in particular the nationality code that currently does not allow women married to foreigners to confer Moroccan nationality to their children or to their husbands.
2. The government should eliminate discriminatory legal provisions that place the burden of proof entirely on female victims of violence, and ensure perpetrators of violence against women do not escape prosecution.
3. The government should work with women's NGOs to develop appropriate remedies and services for women who suffer from trafficking, exploitation, and violence.
4. The government should initiate awareness campaigns to ensure that the public knows about and understands new laws such as the revised 2004 Family Law.

ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Moroccan legislation provides women with the right to dispose of their property freely and enjoy full and independent use of their incomes; the new CSP's elimination of a wife's obligation to obey her husband further reinforces these rights. In practice, however, conflicts in the home do arise over this issue that often lead to divorce. A national survey revealed that 60.7 percent of rural women reported that their husbands or guardians appropriated their income.

According to the Maliki Muslim laws as interpreted in Morocco, sisters inherit less than half of their brothers' share of inheritance. If there is no male heir, the daughter still does not get the full inheritance, and part of her parents' estate goes to her uncles and aunts. The only changes regarding inheritance in the 2004 revision of the CSP concern the rights of the children of a deceased mother to inherit from the maternal grandparents in the same way as children of a deceased father. Laws that forbid a non-Muslim Moroccan wife from inheriting from her Muslim husband remain intact. Discrimination against women in matters of inheritance is exacerbated by cases in which women, particularly rural women, are excluded from receiving their inheritance altogether. The government has not addressed this issue, and the access of rural women to their rightly deserved land and credit continues to be restricted.

The 1995 revisions of Morocco's commercial code and its obligations and contracts code provided women with the right to start a business and enter into a contract of employment without a husband's authorization. In spite of these advances, women owners of businesses or commercial enterprises represent only 0.8 percent of the total female workforce (compared to the 4.6 percent of the male workforce who own businesses). Women employers likewise represent only 5 percent of all employers and are concentrated in agriculture (30 percent) and in the crafts and services sector (20 percent). Personal and family capital is the main source of financing for 77 percent of woman-run businesses, and only 12 percent of them use bank loans. In rural areas, a major obstacle to the creation of woman-run businesses is the difficulty of gaining access to land and to loans.

Many Moroccans have limited access to education, and women's rates of participation and literacy lag behind those of men. An estimated 49 percent of Morocco's population of 15 years of age and older are illiterate; 61.7 percent of women are illiterate, compared to 36.7 percent of men. Rural women's opportunities for education are among the most restricted, with nearly 8 out of 10 rural women unable to read. It was only in the year 2000 that elementary school education became mandatory. While the rate of participation at the elementary school level (children 6 to 11 years of age) increased from 68.6 percent in 1997 to 90 percent in 2002, improvements have not absorbed the deficit in the schooling of girls in rural areas; an estimated 22 percent of rural girls do not receive any formal education.

The government has undertaken efforts to promote gender equality in the educational system with its National Program to Promote Human Rights Culture in Schools. The National Charter of Education and Training of 1999 also stipulates that the principles and rights granted to men, women, and children shall be respected in any delivery of education and training services. The government, however, has not taken any actions against parents who do not send their daughters to school. Moroccan human rights NGOs are also working to address gender inequalities in education through projects to support the schooling of girls in rural areas and by conducting qualitative surveys on discrimination, violence, and sexual harassment in schools.

Article 13 of the constitution guarantees women the right to employment. This right is also now reinforced in the new labor code of 2003, which emphasizes equality in the workplace with regard to employment and salaries. However, specific civil service regulations prohibit women from pursuing some careers such as firefighters, territorial administration officials, and active service in the army. At the national level, the most common occupations for working women are in agriculture or the fishing industry (52.4 percent of working women, compared to 24.6 percent of men).

Moroccan women have made significant progress in the field of labor, and the overall quality of women's employment has improved. More women are in wage-earning positions (24.7 percent of women report being at the level of paid employment), the number of women in managerial positions has increased, and a larger proportion of women in the workforce have an advanced degree or diploma. However, while women wage-earners in urban areas are significantly better educated than men, women still tend to work in occupations that lack status, such as family helpers, home workers, or cleaning staff. The social protection system, associated with the formal sector, excludes most women workers in these types of jobs.

Some surveys have shown that the wage disparity between men and women varies between 30 percent and 40 percent in the industrial sector (including textiles and garments), and that on average, a woman worker makes only 50 percent of the guaranteed minimum wage. Moreover, 32.8 percent of women in the industrial sector live below the poverty line, compared to 22.6 percent of men. Disparities in wages are often a consequence of a hiring process that tends to place women in lower-level secretarial posts and promotion practices that make it more difficult for women to achieve higher positions.

Unemployment affects nearly 12.5 percent of the workforce and primarily occurs in cities, where 83 percent of the unemployed live. However, it is difficult to assess unemployment rates in rural areas, because many rural women who are not paid for their work may not describe themselves as unemployed. Women city dwellers are more affected by unemployment than men living in cities (24.7 percent versus 18 percent), and women with a higher degree or diploma are one of the largest groups affected by unemployment (35 percent compared to 21.8 percent for men).

The 1958 civil service regulation provisions guaranteed women maternity leave and time for breast-feeding, established limits on women's night work, and in some sectors, banned employers from dismissing women employees for pregnancy, maternity, or marital status. The administrative reform of 1993 granted women additional benefits such as the option of early retirement with 15 years of seniority instead of 21 years. In June 2003, the advocacy efforts of Moroccan women's NGOs resulted in significant advances in the country's new labor code. Nondiscrimination between men and women regarding pay, employment, and promotions is now codified for the first time. However, the terms and conditions for implementing nondiscrimination remain vague.

Additional changes in the new labor code include an increase in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 14 weeks for women salaried staff in the public and private sector. The 2003 labor law also requires day-care centers in businesses with more than 50 female employees; however, very few companies respect this law. Women wage-earners, obliged to find their own solutions to day-care needs, resort primarily to domestic workers who are often very young, poorly paid, and without status or social protection.

Section 4 of the 2003 labor law provides for the establishment of a special system to define hiring and employment conditions specific to domestic workers and to the agricultural sector, which employs the majority of women workers. Despite these changes, the status of domestics is still not codified; the labor code applies only to salaried workers and stipulates that the status of non-salaried workers should be covered by a separate code.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is now a criminal offense under Article 503-1 of the revised 2003 penal code, which stipulates that "Any person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his position, to harass another using orders, threats, coercion or any other means in order to obtain sexual favours is guilty of sexual harassment and is punishable by one to two years imprisonment and a fine." However, this measure, which is very vague, has little chance of reducing the prevalence of this problem, as women workers have not been fully informed of the new law or how to take advantage of it. Women are likely to continue to stay quiet about sexual harassment – fearing loss of employment or judgment by their family or society – thus providing their harassers with total impunity.

Despite positive advances within Morocco's labor code, employers continue to discriminate against women regarding financial allowances. When both spouses are government employees and are in a position to receive a family allowance, that allowance continues to be paid exclusively to the husbands as "head of the family" and not to wives. Considering women's advancements within the labor field, this anachronistic practice serves only to reinforce the social stereotype that women are subordinate to men within the household.

A coalition of women's NGOs and trade union members carried out lengthy advocacy campaigns to make sexual harassment in the workplace a criminal offense, to increase maternity leave, and to codify the work of domestics. Much of the success of the coalition's advocacy is apparent in the new labor code; however, women's NGOs continue to advocate for the codification of the labor of domestic workers and those employed in the agricultural sector. The coalition is also examining practical ways in which to implement the new legislation on sexual harassment in the workplace, and to disseminate information about the rights of women workers under the revised labor code.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should review legislation on inheritance to ensure strict equality between men and women and work in cooperation with women's NGOs to inform women of their rights under inheritance laws.
2. The government, working in cooperation with teacher's organizations and women's NGOs, should increase efforts to combat illiteracy among women and girls.
3. The government, in consultation with women's NGOs, should review and revise education methods and materials to ensure that women are presented in a positive and equal way and not negatively stereotyped.
4. The government should adopt measures to encourage the practice of non-discrimination in the hiring and promotion of women in the public and private sectors and regulate the working conditions of women, particularly those who work in the agricultural sector and as domestic workers and family helpers.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIC VOICE

The Moroccan constitution guarantees free elections and universal suffrage. The country's electoral code was completely revised in 2002, introducing a proportional list system and a national list of 30 seats reserved for women in the 2002 house of representatives for the parliamentary elections. Since Morocco's independence in 1956, the country's successive constitutions have granted women political rights and the right to participate in all aspects of political and public life. However, these rights began to be truly implemented only in the late 1990s, when Morocco started taking steps to reform its political system.

Legislative reforms have led to advances in public freedoms for both men and women, with few restrictions in practice, at least in the large cities. Progressive acts by the state in recent years have included rescinding the 1935 royal decree that had prohibited demonstrations contrary to public order, in addition to revising the code governing the creation of associations. However, the interior ministry requires permits for public gatherings, and the police have forcibly dispersed demonstrations in the past. Furthermore, nongovernmental organizations must receive government permission to operate legally.

There is no discrimination between men and women in regard to freedom of expression. However, while Morocco's press laws were revised in 2002, cases still exist in which freedom of the press is attacked. The law still provides for jail sentences and fines for journalists found guilty of libel, and several foreign and domestic publications have been confiscated in recent years. Despite some advances and openings in the print media, broadcast media remain under state control.

Women have the right to take part in elections, which in Morocco are based on a multiparty system. However, all women are not freely able to exercise their right to vote and participate in fair elections, as some candidates exploit the poverty and illiteracy of the poorest women to buy their votes. Government authorities are also known to intervene and direct the voting process, especially in rural and semi-urban areas; nevertheless, these practices, which were widespread in the past, are on the decline.

In 1998, there were 391 women judges serving in Morocco's trial courts, appeal courts, and the Supreme Court. A woman was appointed to the Constitutional Council for the first time in June 1999. Morocco has nearly 1,065 women lawyers out of a total of 6,400; 8 women serve as counsel for the prosecution at the Supreme Court, and 5 women are deputies of the Attorney General. Although women have a significant presence in the judicial hierarchy, no woman presides over a chamber of the Supreme Court or a public prosecutor's office, and there are no female examining magistrates. Women are also absent from the higher judicial division of the army court.

Women first became part of the Moroccan government in 1997, when one was made Secretary of State. Since that time, however, the number of women ministers has remained limited. Women generally receive portfolios as secretaries of state or junior ministers and tend not to be given strong institutional mandates with significant human or financial means.

While women vote as much, if not more, than men, very few women run as candidates for office. The number of female elected representatives at the local, regional, and national levels remains insignificant. To address the low level of women's representation in government, women's NGOs have called for a quota system of 25 percent within the leadership of political parties and among candidates in elections at different levels of representation. In February 2002, the government adopted a national list of 30 seats reserved for women for the legislative elections in September 2002. This measure facilitated the access of 30 women who gained seats as a result of the national list, as well as 5 who won seats in their local districts. The proportion of women in the Chamber of Representatives therefore increased from less than 1 percent to nearly 10.8 percent. Furthermore, at present, a woman from the Progressive and Socialist Party (PPS) is president of a parliamentary group, and a woman from the Popular Movement (MP) is vice president of the Chamber of Representatives.

Moroccan women's NGOs pressed the government to implement mechanisms, such as financial incentives or sanctions, to accompany the list voting system in order to guarantee women's representation. Nevertheless, the quota system was not institutionalized and was not used in the local elections of 2003. As a result, the proportion of women elected as local representatives remained unchanged at 0.6 percent.

Information on women's participation in political parties is scarce, yet a national survey indicates that only 1 percent of women are members of a political party. Another survey showed that a majority of women (89.2 percent) did not belong to a political party, trade union, or associative organization. The national survey reported that 6 in 10 urban women felt that they had not been informed of the existence of political parties and associations.

Many Moroccan women do not have full access to information or resources with which to empower their civic or political lives. The country's audiovisual means are still not adequately adapted to meet women's informational needs. To meet the deficits in information available to Moroccan women, NGOs are increasing the number of radio campaigns, posters, meetings, and training sessions for women, to encourage them to stand for office in elections and to vote for candidates who are likely to consider women's agendas.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should ensure free, competitive, and democratic elections that are open to all parties, with the full and equal participation of women at all levels of the political process.
2. The government should institutionalize mechanisms and affirmative measures to promote women to positions of senior-level responsibility and decision-making, both in the civil service and in the private sector.
3. The government should create a quota system for female candidates in political parties to ensure that women are able to run as candidates.
4. International donors and the Moroccan government should offer technical and financial support to Moroccan NGOs in the women's political rights field, to help increase access to information for all Moroccan women, particularly rural women.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Morocco's high levels of illiteracy, poor access to health care and education, high rates of unemployment, and extensive poverty are exacerbated by stark inequalities between the country's male and female populations and between the rural and urban populations. Women are more affected by poverty and poor economic conditions than men, and women's access to social and cultural rights are often severely restricted.

Glaring inequalities exist between rural and urban areas, and among the various regions of the country in terms of access to health care. Maternal mortality remains high (228 per 100,000 live births nationally and 307 in rural areas), and assistance and follow-up for childbirth remains very low nationally (45.6 percent), with very significant discrepancies between urban areas (75.2 percent) and rural areas (26 percent). There are no programs of systematic screening for breast and cervical cancer; only women from the upper social strata can afford these tests.

Overall progress in women's health is evident however, due partly to the government's policy to reduce the birth rate and partly to women's health education initiatives. The sale of contraceptives is unrestricted and encouraged by the official media; in 1997, the prevalence of contraceptive use had increased to 65.8 percent in urban areas and 51.7 percent in rural areas. Furthermore, women's fertility rates have significantly declined; the fertility index has changed from 5.9 children per woman in 1980 (7.04 for rural women) to 2.7 in 2003.

Voluntary termination of pregnancy is forbidden under the criminal code; abortion is authorized only in cases in which the pregnancy places the mother's life in danger. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that women do have abortions but must pay high prices or may experience the termination in conditions that are dangerous to their health or to their lives. There is limited data available on the incidence of illegal abortions in Morocco.

According to 2001 statistics, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have become a real public health problem in Morocco, with 250,000 new cases reported per year. Women are particularly vulnerable to STIs and HIV/AIDS due to their lack of power over decisions regarding their reproductive health, such as the use of contraceptives for effective prevention and protection. While it is believed that HIV/AIDS is still relatively limited in Morocco, women are becoming as vulnerable as men. The subject of HIV/AIDS, however, is no longer taboo, and the Ministry of Health and health-specialized NGOs have organized several awareness programs. Nevertheless, the efforts of government and civil society to combat HIV/AIDS are often challenged by the activism of conservative political groups opposed to consciousness-raising and sexual education programs.

Some gender-based traditional practices that are harmful to women's health exist in Morocco. Social preference for women to give birth at home, the use of traditional medicines, and consultations with unlicensed doctors can be detrimental to women's safety and well-being. Although these practices are widespread, they are not effectively recorded or addressed by the government.

Another harmful gender-based practice is the use of the virginity test. Young women are often compelled by their parents to take a virginity test in order to prove their virginity before marriage. Virginity is highly valued by society – a woman who has lost her virginity before marriage is considered to have brought dishonor on her family and may not be able to marry. Unmarried mothers and their children, who usually come from disadvantaged backgrounds, are often subjected to inhuman treatment by society, and the mothers may be threatened with imprisonment for having sex outside marriage. The loss of virginity and/or pregnancy outside of marriage, combined with societal mores, lead many young women to commit suicide, abandon their children, or engage in prostitution. While several associations work to care for these women, their resources are inadequate to meet the women's needs due to the high number of cases. The government seems to have adopted a policy of ignoring the problem, yielding to pressure from extremist religious groups.

There are no legal restrictions on women's right to own property in Morocco, and housing is guaranteed as one of the rights of the child when parents divorce under the new CSP. Therefore, mothers with custody of their children – who were previously turned out into the street – are now entitled to housing. However, in practice, widespread poverty, which is attributable mainly to rapid urbanization, complicates the issue of women's housing. The government has initiated many affordable housing programs to help the most disadvantaged members of society but has been unable to meet the needs of many Moroccan women.

Poverty affects nearly one in five Moroccans and is more prevalent in rural areas. While both men (18.9 percent) and women (19.1 percent) suffer from poverty, women are more likely to be exposed to poverty and to be poor at every age. Select factors make some female populations more vulnerable to poverty than others. Widows and divorcees in urban areas are more exposed to poverty (34.3 percent). Women-headed poor households are likely to be larger than poor households headed by men; in urban areas, 16.9 percent of poor people live in households headed by women, compared to only 5 percent in rural areas. Women in rural areas encounter a number of additional problems connected with poverty, such as: widespread illiteracy; poor access to and retention in the education system; poor access to health care; isolation; impoverished social structures; and poor access to resources such as land, water, domestic energy, bank credit, training, and information.

In recent years, women have gained a strong presence in Morocco's two public television networks, the country's various radio stations, and print journalism. The media in general, and especially the press, have contributed to and influenced positive changes in the status of women in Morocco. The women's press has recently experienced remarkable growth. The leaders of the women's movement are regularly asked by Moroccan media to contribute comments, and their activities are generally well covered. A woman was recently appointed head of the senior institute of journalism, and another woman holds a high position in the management of a public network. Moreover, women journalists have recently formed an association with the aim of promoting women in the profession and their image in the media.

Moroccan women's NGOs and human rights groups in the country have intensified initiatives to promote better conditions and improve the status of women and the most vulnerable populations. NGOs are directing the most important programs for women in the areas of literacy education, microfinancing and microcredit. Moroccan NGOs have also set up many centers where women can obtain information and legal aid. Campaigns to increase awareness of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, as well as campaigns to promote the schooling of young girls, have become widespread. NGOs are also conducting projects to rehabilitate schools and other shared infrastructures. Nevertheless, government efforts to support women's economic rights remain limited in scope and depth. The government's annual development budget is far from ideal and fails to address the key issues facing women in rural areas.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should work in cooperation with NGOs to make contraception and information on reproductive health more accessible in vocational training centers, national mutual aid centers, and literacy education courses.
2. The government should allocate more funds for women's healthcare in all parts of Morocco.
3. The government and NGOs should work together to prevent the spread of STIs and HIV/AIDS.
4. The government should implement a specific strategy to help women who are most exposed to social marginalization and poverty, through support services, credit, financial literacy, and employment skills.

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AUTHOR: Rabéa Naciri is President of the Association Démocratique du Femmes du Maroc (ADFM/Rabat) and former Executive Director of the Collectif 95 Maghreb Egalite, a network of women's associations and women researchers from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia committed to preventing violence against women. Ms. Naciri was also a Professor in the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines at the University of Rabat in Morocco.

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NOTES

[Refworld note: source files did not contain inline references to these notes; they have been included to enable further reading and research.]

1. Less than half of all households are connected to the drinking water system, and scarcely more are hooked up to the electrical system.

2. The most recent constitutional revision was in 1996; references to the constitution in this report refer to the 1996 constitution unless otherwise indicated.

3. Finance Act, Section 22.

4. The exceptions being the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1954) and the International Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962).

5. "Trafficking in Persons Report" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 14 June 2004).

6. "Statistical survey of girl domestics under 18 years of age in the administrative district of Casablanca" (Ministry of Economic Forecasting and the Plan, Regional Delegation of Greater Casablanca, with support of UNICEF and UNFPA).

7. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003: Morocco (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 25 February 2004).

8. Rabéa Naciri, "Gender-based Violence in Women and Men in Morocco. Analysis of the Situation and of Changes in Discrepancies in a Gender Perspective" (Rabat: Kingdom of Morocco, Ministry of Economic Forecasting and the Plan, Statistics Directorate, UNIFEM, UNDP, ESCWA, publication in progress).

9. Carin Benninger-Budel, "Violence Against Women in Morocco" (New York: UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women [CEDAW], report for 29th session, 2003).

10. "Equality between Men and Women: Viewpoint of the Moroccan Population. Report Analyzing the Results of the Opinion poll" (Rabat: Democratic Association of Moroccan Women, July 2004).

11. ENBTF, Women's use of time in Morocco, "Summary report," Vol. 2 (Ministry of Economic Forecasting and the Plan, Statistics Directorate, 1997-1998).

12. Benninger-Budel (CEDAW) 18.

13. Ibid., 19.

14. Nearly 10 million individuals.

15. Table 24, "Gender-related development index," in Human Development Report 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World (New York: United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2004), 217-220. http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/.

16. Recensement General de la Population et de l'Habitat [RGPH] 1994; and National Survey of the Standard of Living of Households (ENNVM) (Rabat: Statistics Directorate 1998-1999).

17. "School Statistics: Report on the class of 2001-2002" (Rabat: Ministry of National Education (MEN), May 2002).

18. Workforce participation, employment and unemployment 2002, "Summary Report" (Rabat: Kingdom of Morocco, Office of the High Commissioner of the Plan, Statistics Directorate).

19. Aziz Ajbilou, "Economic activity, vulnerability to poverty and inequalities between men and women," Workshop on men and women in Morocco: analysis of the situation and changes in disparities, from a gender perspective (Rabat: Kingdom of Morocco, Statistics Directorate, UNIFEM, UNDP, ESCWA, 18-19 March 2003).

20. Saad Belghazi, "Employment of women and Morocco's competitive advantage" (Geneva and Rabat: UN Research Institute for Social Development [UNRISD]/ Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Aziz Belal [CERAB], 1995).

21. At present, the guaranteed minimum wage set by the government for the industrial sector is nearly US$185 per month.

22. Benninger-Budel (CEDAW), 34.

23. Ibid., 17.

24. "National Report: Beijing +10" (Rabat: Secrétariat d'Etat auprès du Ministre de L'Emploi, des Affaires Sociales et de la Solidarité, Chargé de la Famille, de la Solidarité et de l'Action Sociale, April 2004).

25. The government makes grants to political parties to finance their election campaigns.

26. However, the number of candidates was larger.

27. ENBTF.

28. Rahma Bourqia, et al., "Moroccan student youth: Values and strategies" (Rabat: Rabat Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Essays and studies series, No. 14, 1995).

29. ENBTF.

30. Data taken from l'Enquête Nationale sur la Fécondité et la Planification Familiale (ENFPF) (1979-80); "2003 World Population Data Sheet" (Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau, 2003).

31. Yakoubd Abdel-Ilah, "Gender and health in Morocco," Workshop on Men and Women in Morocco, 2003.

32. Portion of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2003 was 0.1 percent. "2004 World Population Data Sheet" (Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau, 2004).

33. In 1998-1999, the poverty line was set at 3,922 dh per year in urban areas and 3,037 dh per year in rural areas. This represents an average daily expenditure of US$1 for city dwellers and US$0.8 for people living in the country.

34. ENNVM (1998-1999).

35. Widows and divorcees make up 13.6 percent of the total female population.