It’s time for the debate in Parliament. Indeed, it was this Tuesday, January 7 that the Family Code arrived at the deputies, in particular at the Commission on Justice and Human Rights. The Ministers of Justice, Ouahbi, and that of Habous, Ahmed Touafiq, are invited to confront the elected representatives of the First Chamber to present and expose the new features of the reform of this text which continues to generate a lot of ink.
This being said and in a context where societal debates around this text remain very lively, this first meeting this Tuesday in Parliament marks the start of a complex legislative process where deputies are called upon to carefully examine the amendments, under the watchful eye of Moroccans.
In the meantime, discussions and exchanges continue through the various communication channels. The different speakers from different backgrounds plead for a balanced, fair and equitable Moudawana. And others go even further! Some have even called for a popular referendum. The PJD, for its part, continues to call for a popular demonstration against the texts of the Ouahbi-Tawfiq duo.
For Benkirane and his friends, a proposal such as the exclusion of the marital home from inheritance does not pass for the interested party, arguing that the heirs will be deprived of their legitimate right since “these are rights established by Allah” and that “we shouldn’t have touched it.”
The PJD, through its SG, sees in this proposal a direct threat to inheritance law as defined by Islam and called for clarification by the Body Responsible for the revision of the Family Code, recalling in passing that this The proposition has been rejected by scholars, who consider it in opposition to well-established religious texts.
Also, the SG of the PJD considers that the proposal to consider the role of housewife as work is incomprehensible, and that if this project were adopted in Morocco, this would make the country a unique case in the world, which would, according to him, lead to , a lack of interest among young people in marriage, a “very worrying” situation. In short, the new features introduced into the Moudawana will certainly not fail, according to Benkirane, to destroy and destabilize the legal and divine fundamentals of the Moroccan family.
As a reminder, in his presentation, Ahmed Toufiq, Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, made it clear to the Sovereign that the opinion of the Superior Council of Ulemas was in accordance with the majority of the 17 questions submitted for legal opinion within the framework of the revision of the Family Code: “In accordance with the relevant decision of His Majesty the King, Amir Al-Mouminine, to kindly submit 17 questions for legal opinion, the opinion of the Superior Council of Ulemas has been in compliance with the majority of these issues,” he said, while specifying the possible modalities for compliance of others with the rules of Sharia.
And to continue that three of them relate to formal texts not authorizing Ijtihad on their subject, in this case those relating to the use of genetic expertise to establish paternal filiation, to the abrogation of the rule of Taâsib and the succession between a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
And to specify that the Council gave its approval to the proposals of the Authority concerning the possibility of concluding the marriage certificate for Moroccans residing abroad without the presence of two Muslim witnesses if this proves impossible, the granting legal guardianship of children to the mother responsible for custody and consideration of the wife’s work within the home as a contribution to the development of assets acquired during the matrimonial relationship.
It is also, he continued, the obligation of Nafaqa for the benefit of the wife from the establishment of the marriage certificate, the exclusion of the marital home from inheritance, the prioritization of the debts of the two spouses resulting from the community of property in relation to other debts by virtue of their association and the maintenance of custody of the divorced mother over her children, even in the event of remarriage.
For his part, the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, indicated that the proposals resulting from broad consultations relate to the various questions framed by the Family Code and aim to correct certain legal and judicial dysfunctions recorded, to transcend the heaviness and the slowness of legal procedures, to ensure greater intervention by the public prosecutor and to deal with certain social phenomena linked to the issues of marriage of minors, polygamy, child custody, Nafaqa, guardianship legal, of the matrimonial home, as well as the problems resulting from the breakdown of the marital relationship which threaten the best interests of the children.
This means that in Parliament, the battle for a modern Moudawana or a conservative Moudawana will not be relevant!
H.Z
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