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International Women's Day in Morocco
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The eighth of March is celebrated each year as International Women’s Day. Let’s take this opportunity to look at the status of women in one Middle Eastern country: Morocco, in the Maghreb (Arab North Africa).
While the Arab world is, to put it delicately, not generally at the forefront of democracy and human rights protection, Morocco’s record is better than average. The US State Department’s annual Human Rights Report on Morocco paints a favorable picture. It notes that Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected legislature. The 2007 elections “went smoothly and were marked by transparency and professionalism, according to international observers, and the elections were judged relatively free from irregularities.”
Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operate in Morocco. Among these are several devoted to women’s issues: the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women, the Union for Women's Action, the Democratic League for the Rights of Women, and the Moroccan Association for Women's Rights. On the other hand, the government imposes limits. In February Morocco preemptly excluded a French NGO, "Ni Putes Ni Soumises" (Neither Whores nor Submissives), which combats violence against Muslim women in France. The Interior Ministry explained its decision this way: “The trend of that association, which is engaged in respectable work in France, does not conform with the approach adopted in Morocco for dealing with issues related to the situation of women.” Possible translation: That kind of in-your-face attitude may be all right in Paris, but we aren’t ready for it here in Rabat.
Fouzia Azouli, the president of the Democratic League for the Rights of Women, observed in an International Women’s Day interview, that Moroccan women have made progress, but there’s more progress to be made. Legal reforms enacted in 2004 have improved the position of women, but issues like the marriage of underage girls, polygamy, and violence against women remain problems in practice. Azouli particularly condemned Penal Code section 475, which permits a rapist to escape punishment by marrying his victim. Activist Zohour al-Zeraei adds, “She knows the marriage will not last but she'd rather be called ‘divorced’ than ‘raped.’”
According to the State Department human rights report, the 2004 reforms raised the marriage age for girls from 15 to 18, permit divorce by mutual consent, and abolished the legal requirement that a wife be obedient to her husband. However, under the “what the devil were they thinking?” heading, the problem of “honor killings” was addressed not by abolishing the leniency given to husbands who kill their wives, but by extending the same legal protections to wives who kill their husbands. A noteworthy example of more equality but less justice.
In a lighter vein, International Women’s Day was not merely the occasion of chin-pulling analyses and speeches. Moroccan blogger “The View from Fez” reported that the celebration there included henna tattooing and a performance by women’s singing group Jilaliat.
The news from the Arab world tends to be grim. Perhaps not coincidentally, Morocco is rarely in the news. Significant segments of Moroccan society are embracing modernity and are facing Morocco's problems head-on.
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