It was to be expected, the reform of the Moudawana has caused a lot of ink to flow and social networks are full of frankly negative reactions. If we can be pleased that the debate is open and that our fellow citizens are contributing directly to it thanks to social platforms, the first observation that we can make about this phase into which this reform has entered is that little are those who are ready to take the plunge to defend it or even just explain its content and key measures.
Since the famous consultations upstream of the proposals formulated for reform, political parties, left-wing in particular, have left, even though the defense of human rights is supposed to be one of the high priorities and values of these parties; only the PJD and its zaïm, for whom this debate is a blessing to reappear on the public scene, are stepping up to the plate; but also exit our parliamentarians, who outside the hemicycle take no position; Exit also the intellectuals and civil society who still seem to be under the influence of the torpor of festivals, vacations and the cold. The pretext for everyone is that this reform is “royal” and that therefore it will succeed in one way or another.
However, we are far from a national consensus and unanimous support of the Moroccan population for this reform, particularly among men. Firstly because for Moroccan men, those in any case who often express themselves with great vehemence on the subject, the prism of women is often non-existent.
And, through theirs, for all the good reasons in the world, of religion which always has its back on tradition, nothing justifies ceding ground, rights or new gains to women to their detriment. Although common sense dictates that this should not surprise us any more than that, because history is not really full of oppressors who voluntarily freed those they oppressed, it is important to take stock of the real opposition to the reform to ensure its possible success if adopted.
If in the United States, positive masculinity seems to be coming back to the forefront after years of positive discrimination against women in particular, Morocco is not at all in this situation. For us, there is no wokism on the agenda, machismo still has a bright future ahead of it as the patriarchal structure is anchored by education and morals in the minds of some of our men. It is not even an ideological struggle between social classes.
From the richest to the poorest, many men will not cede an iota of their power under the pretext that Morocco is moving forward, that women deserve more protection for what they are, full members of our society to which they contribute if only by accepting and swallowing the daily traps that men can subject them to.
So faced with the “macho macho men” who do not want us to speak in their name, who threaten to no longer want to marry or who do not care about family dramas and traumatized children, violence against women or marriages minors, we still need pedagogy, clear explanations on the real issues of the reform, measure by measure, perhaps even a televised intervention by a minister, forums and debates, contradictory comments, everything except indifference.
It is absolutely necessary that the reluctant, the vehement, the recalcitrant, the epidermal with short ideas, understand that it is not a question of depriving them of anything, but on the contrary that while we gain height in as a people and a nation, protecting and emancipating half of the population is not a luxury, it is a reality and a necessity.
Zouhair Yata
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