Moroccan women, who are celebrating their national day this Thursday, October 10, have reason to be proud. In two decades, their condition has significantly improved in all areas, thanks to the great concern with which His Majesty King Mohammed VI surrounds women, and to remarkable activism by civil society in terms of advocacy and awareness.
Between 2004, the date of adoption of the Family Code, a founding and pioneering text in the Arab-Muslim world which consolidated the status of women within the family institution (marriage, divorce, child custody, sharing of property, inheritance) and until 2024, countless progress has taken place, reflecting a significant change in mentalities.
This progress would not have been possible without the contributions of the 2011 Constitution which stipulates, in article 19, that “men and women enjoy, equally, rights and freedoms of a civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental” and that “the State works to achieve parity between men and women”.
According to Fouzia Assouli, president of the Federation of the Democratic League for Women’s Rights, the Kingdom’s Basic Law has set the bar for reforms high and has marked the path towards the empowerment of women, by providing for the creation of an Authority for parity and the fight against all forms of discrimination.
In a statement to MAP, the community activist recalls that this Authority has not yet seen the light of day, emphasizing the role it can play in improving public policies and strategies dedicated to women.
Internationally, the adoption by the Kingdom, in 2015, of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), gave the full measure of the commitment of the Moroccan state to rehabilitate half of society in its rights.
At the national level, and following the revision of old laws and the adoption of new legislation, the legal arsenal has evolved towards greater integration of the gender dimension and better protection of political and socio-economic rights. economic problems of women (law 103.13 relating to the fight against violence against women, Penal Code, Nationality Code, Labor Code, etc.).
These legal advances, the result of political will and intense advocacy efforts by civil society, have enabled women to unleash their potential and make a significant breakthrough in politics, economics, sport, media, etc.
Thus, in the House of Representatives, the rate of female representation increased from 17% in 2011 to 24% in 2024. If this rate remains below expectations, it nevertheless reflects a positive dynamic which is taking place in the within the legislative institution.
In turn, the civil service has become largely feminized in recent years, with a percentage of 40% women civil servants in 2019, despite low access to decision-making positions.
Women only represent 23.5% of positions of responsibility and 17.2% of senior jobs, according to figures from the High Commission for Planning.
Overall, the HCP reports, in an information note published in March 2021, a “low but quality participation” of women in the labor market, with an activity rate of 19.9% compared to 70.4% for men.
Regarding female entrepreneurship, the HCP reveals that 12.8% of organized businesses were run by women in 2019, with a concentration in the services sector (17.3%).
The most notable achievements have been recorded in the area of access to education, since the HCP reports the enrollment of 96.1% of girls aged 15 to 17 in 2022, even if in this area, the gap between rural and urban areas remains glaring (only 47.6% of rural girls in school).
So many socio-economic indicators which denote an indisputable evolution in the situation of women, but which provide information, at the same time, on “the path that remains to be taken to achieve the objective of parity set by the Constitution”, notes Ms. Assouli.
To achieve this, it considers it necessary to have, in addition to sectoral plans, a transversal strategy which addresses the issue of women in all its complexity and proposes sustainable and integrated solutions to the problems which persist.
“For example, we have made a lot of progress in girls’ schooling thanks to social support programs. But as soon as they reach high school, some of these girls abandon their studies to get married. To the economic barrier is added another, cultural, which slows down the momentum of women’s emancipation. Hence the need to ensure the convergence of public policies for greater efficiency,” she maintains.
Despite the immensity of the challenges to be met and the projects to be completed to achieve full and effective gender parity, the virtuous dynamic initiated since the enthronement of His Majesty King Mohammed VI is undeniable and irreversible.
The letter sent by the Sovereign, in September 2023, to the Head of Government, relating to the revision of the Family Code in order to fill the gaps revealed by 20 years of implementation, is likely to strengthen this reform momentum which is making Morocco a model to follow in the Arab-Islamic world.
