In a note on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Council stresses that equality between women and men and the full participation of women in all aspects of working life “cannot be achieved without a legal framework in harmony with the ambitions of the country, which allows women to fully enjoy their rights, without discrimination”.
The ESEC therefore considers that it “is time to carry out a revision of the Family Code, in accordance with the Constitution and in accordance with the international conventions ratified by Morocco and in line with the ambitions for the emancipation of women and gender equality enshrined in the New Development Model”.
Indeed, the Council recalls, Morocco has had a new Family Code since 2004 which has made significant progress in women’s rights, affirming that this new code has had a positive impact contributing to changing mentalities in terms of equality between women and men.
Nevertheless, nearly 20 years later, Morocco has ratified many international conventions on women’s rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination once morest Women (CEDAW), and has a new Constitution which establishes the principle of equality between women and men and calls for the compliance of the laws in force with the country’s international commitments, underlines the same source.
Faced with these changes, and in view of the profound transformations that society has undergone in recent decades, towards greater demands for equality, equity and social justice, the Council considers “that it is time to do evolve the Family Code to make it correspond to national and international jurisdictions”.
According to the ESEC, discrimination still exists at several points, citing, in particular, guardianship over children. “Women cannot be guardians of their children. In practice, the mother has exclusive custody of the children by default, except in special cases, and the father is considered the sole legal guardian of the children. This situation goes once morest the principles of sharing family responsibilities between spouses, and in particular that of children. It also prejudices the rights and obligations of divorced parents vis-à-vis their children when disputes between separated spouses continue. In addition, the right to remarry is sanctioned for women by the loss of custody of the children, except in exceptional cases”, indicates the ESEC.
It is also regarding early marriage, a practice which continues to be the prerogative of the discretionary power of judges, notes the EESC, adding that it must be abolished under the best interests of the child guaranteed by the Constitution. and the international conventions ratified by Morocco, in particular the CIDE and the CEDAW.
It is also a question of property acquired during conjugal life, the division of which between spouses, in the event of divorce or death of the spouse, is also a point to be developed in the jurisdiction. “Indeed, the domestic work of women during the duration of the marriage is not recognized and leads to their deprivation of their share of the goods acquired by the household during the life of the couple when they are not able to prove their contribution directly to growing family assets,” the note explains.
The ESEC also highlighted the delays in divorce proceedings due to “Chiqaq” discord, which are often long and exceed 6 months. “During this period, the living conditions of the household become complicated and the tensions around the procedure can lead to domestic and family violence”, underlines the Council.
These discriminations contribute to the reinforcement of the feeling of legal and judicial, economic and social insecurity of women, considers the Council, noting that they lead to restrictions of their freedoms and their rights and return them to a dependence on others.
“Under these conditions, it becomes difficult to fight once morest the persistence of violence once morest women when they risk finding themselves in a situation of financial precariousness following divorce, due to a system of division of property that is not fair,” notes the Council.
Aware of the importance of having a legal arsenal that secures citizens, and in particular women, and protects them once morest all forms of discrimination or violence, the Council thus calls for a revision of the Family Code by launching without delay “open, plural and responsible public debate”.
The Council also calls for collective reflection, enlightened by the assistance of the expertise of the authorities competent in the matter, on all questions relating to marriage, divorce, succession, filiation, rights of custody of children and the recognition of women’s domestic work.
This debate should also focus without taboo on issues relating to the individual rights, health and well-being of women, the note concluded.
