Morocco has approved one of the most progressive laws on women’s and family rights in the Arab world, which will see polygamy almost completely eradicated from the north African country.
Last-ditch attempts by Islamist deputies in the Rabat Parliament failed to derail a law that had the backing of King Mohammed VI.
”There are men who, for physical reasons, cannot satisfy themselves with only one wife,” one Islamist deputy was reported as arguing during a month of parliamentary debate that ended last weekend.
”In that case they should seek treatment,” Religious Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq reportedly replied.
The changes to the mudawana family code make polygamy acceptable only in rare circumstances, and only with the permission of a judge and a man’s first wife.
They also raise the age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 and give wives ”joint responsibility” with their husbands in family matters.
”This is a crucial stage in the changes Morocco is experiencing at the constitutional, democratic, social and human rights level,” Justice Minister Mohammed Bouzoubaa said.
The change to the family code came nine months after a resurgence of radical Islamist violence, with suicide attacks claiming the lives of 41 people in Casablanca.
King Mohammed delayed instituting the reform after Islamists brought hundreds of thousands of people out on to the streets to protest at any change to the mudawana. Islamists have now accused the king of bowing to pressure from Europe and the United States.
Within the Arab world only Tunisian women now enjoy equal or better rights than their Moroccan counterparts. — Â