WUNRN
MOROCCO
- INHERITANCE LAWS RETAIN GENDER BIASES
Morocco's inheritance
laws remain biased against women despite the country's efforts to legislate
gender equality. Experts say changes to the inheritance law must be legislated
and enforced if old traditions are to be altered.
When
Zineb lost her father at the age of 15, her grief was compounded when she
learned that she had to share his inheritance with an older half-brother
unknown to her or her mother and sister.
“It felt unfair to split
it with him,” said Zineb, 29, a teacher in Rabat who asked that her full name
not be used because as a political activist she is concerned about her safety.
“Somebody was parachuted into your life and we didn’t know him and after all,
my mom worked for half of all of that money.”
A decade ago, Morocco
adopted a family code hailed by women’s rights groups as a big step forward.
Three years ago, the country passed a new constitution guaranteeing gender
equality. Even so, Moroccan women say that equality is still a long way off,
and much of the old order remains untouched, including the inheritance law
section of the family code. That law, laid down in the Quran, states that male
relatives receive double the inheritance of women.
But the pressure for
change is building. “Islam allows for reinterpretation, and it is time for
radical decisions to protect women,” said Saida Kouzzi, a founding partner at
Mobilizing for Rights Associates, a nongovernmental organization based in
Morocco. “This law of inheritance was based on the fact that men were the head
of the households, which is not the case anymore as many women are the ones who
provide for the family or at least contribute in a significant manner.”
In 2004, Morocco rewrote
its code of family law, establishing the right to divorce by mutual consent,
placing limits on polygamy and raising the minimum marriage age for women to 18
from 15. But no changes were made with respect to inheritance.
At the time, the Moroccan
ruler, King Mohammed VI, had to arbitrate between the demands of feminist
organizations, who were calling for an expansion of women’s rights, and the
Islamic political parties, who were strongly resistant to change. But terrorist
bombings in 2003 that killed 45 people in Casablanca weakened the Islamist
parties and paved the way for the adoption of the new family code. The king
seized that opportunity to make it clear that he was the country’s top
religious authority.
“I can’t in my capacity
as commander of the faithful, permit what God has forbidden, nor forbid what
the Almighty has allowed,” the king said in an October 2003 address to
Parliament about the changes to the family code. He also hinted that he would
push to loosen religious rules without completely rejecting them.
Analysts said it was a
clever strategy.
“It was definitely a
strong marketing move,” said Abdellah Tourabi, a political science researcher
and the editor of the Moroccan monthly magazine Zamane. “It was the fourth year
of his reign, and the move gave him the image of a modernist and a reformer. He
became a sort of bulwark against conservatism and Islamism and a strategic ally
for the secular elites.”
Still, human rights
organizations say that, in practice, the changes have not been fully carried
out, mainly because some judges have been finding ways around the law or are
still unfamiliar with the amendments.
Although the law now
states that 18 is the minimum marriage age, judges have granted permission for
the marriage of minors in about 90 percent of the cases that have appeared
before them, according to 2010 data reported by the Justice Ministry.
“It
takes much more time for changes in the law to be translated into practice,”
said Ziba Mir-Hosseini, a research
associate specializing in women and Islamic law at the Centre for Islamic and
Middle Eastern Law at the University of London. “Studies show that it takes
about one generation or 30 years for legislation to push society in a different
direction.”
“Many families in rural
areas are really eager to have their daughters marry much earlier,” she added.
“Judges have to go by the reality on the ground.”
In conservative Morocco,
the reality is that even women may be reluctant to challenge Islamic traditions
that discriminate against them. “Women are very attached to the book and it is
very clear on inheritance,” said Sonia Terrab, a Moroccan novelist, referring
to the Quran. “If given the choice, they will reject reform. There needs to be
a strong state that imposes it until it becomes a solid gain in two or three
generations.”
In December, Driss
Lachgar, secretary general of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, an
opposition party, demanded the repeal of laws that discriminate against women
and called for a national debate on the inheritance law. Although his message
stirred some controversy, no national or legislative debate ensued.
Ms. Kouzzi, the human
rights worker, said the enforcement of the inheritance law had serious
consequences: Many families disintegrate after the death of the father, and
sometimes the survivors lose their homes.
Many Moroccans, she said,
have discovered ways to work around the law, registering their properties in
the name of their daughters, if they do not have a son, to guarantee that the
inheritance stays within the nuclear family.
To radically change a
traditional law, scholars say, it is necessary to accept that Muslim societies
like Morocco are deeply conservative. Feminists and other groups seeking change
must work with conservatives and avoid using alienating language.
“This issue cannot be
addressed without taking into consideration what Moroccans consider to be their
identity: Islam,” said Souad Eddouada, a professor at the University of Kenitra
in Morocco who specializes in gender studies. “This is a very tough battle to
win for feminists because it touches money and property. Islam is based on the
concept of justice, so a new reading of the texts can open the way to reforms
even with inheritance.”
Many believe that this
kind of change will not be possible in Morocco unless the king provides the
impetus.
But Zineb, the teacher
who lost her father, said change was bound to happen despite the serious
challenge it would pose to the privileges of men. Until then, she is making
special provisions for her 8-year-old daughter.
“My advice to all women is to make sure they put the stuff in the kids’ names,” she said. “And they have to do it while they’re alive so the law doesn’t take away the girls’ rights.”