At the initiative of the Ministry of Justice and UN Women, the national conference on the theme “Equality and justice in the Moroccan family” began its two-day work this Thursday, October 27 in Rabat, with the aim of revising the Family Code and to opt for a reform of a Moudawana which has been in place for more than a decade.
The implementation of the Family Code, which entered into force in 2004, requires the opening of a public debate allowing the revision of its provisions in order to deal with the dysfunctions and the challenges that this practice entails. This is what Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, shared during the opening session of the conference, who subsequently did not fail to let it be known that the time had come to review the details. of this code.
According to Ouahbi, the revision will make it possible to align with the various challenges and changes that Morocco has experienced since the ratification of the Constitution in 2011 and international conventions. The work launched is part of the strengthening of the role of family mediation in the resolution of family conflicts.
In addition, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) takes the same position of the ministry. Ahmed Réda Chami, president of the CESE, called in particular for the revision of the Family Code by means of the initiation of a public debate ” open, pluralistic and responsible “.
” Aware of the importance of having a legal arsenal guaranteeing the legal certainty of citizens, in particular women, and their protection against all forms of discrimination or violence, the ESEC calls for a revision of the Family Code by accelerating the launch of an open, pluralistic and responsible public debate, and of a dynamic of collective reflection based on the opinion of competent authorities around all the questions related in particular to marriage, divorce, filiation, childcare and recognition of women’s domestic work “, he specifies, and to add that this ” debate should also focus on other legislation affecting women’s rights and freedoms as well as their health and physical safety“.
Chami also recalled the significant progress made by the Kingdom, through a large number of initiatives and decisions taken in terms of strengthening the place of women, namely “ the promulgation of the Family Code, the constitutionalization of equality between women and men, the adoption of the principles of parity, the ratification of several international commitments on women’s rights and the revision of legislative texts such as the Penal code to protect women from violence, sexual harassment and human trafficking “.
The person in charge also mentions the effort at the level of “ Labor Code which enshrines the principle of non-discrimination against women in terms of employment and salary, and the law on nationality, which allows children of Moroccan mothers to acquire their affiliation to nationality but laments the fact that reality indicates otherwise and that despite this commitment, more efforts are proving to be necessary.
On the other hand, Leila Rhiwi, the Moroccan activist and representative of UN Women, commends the Kingdom’s commitment in this regard, which has spanned more than two decades and its contribution to the advancement of all its initiatives. concrete.
However, the representative asserts that ” societies change and evolve, and the laws and social rules governing family relationships need to be changed and revised to reflect these changes and continues that ” Ihe United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women views the family as a space of equality and justice, a place where women can exercise their rights and choices, a space where women can express and enjoy physical, psychological and economic integrity. According to statistics from the High Commission for Planning, 46% of victims are exposed to domestic violence » .
