Morocco unveils new women's rights legislation

Morocco proposed on Tuesday reforms to its family law, addressing issues such as limits on underage marriage and women's inheritance rights, which activists have said were not guaranteed under the current code.

Based on landmark 2004 legislation that was hailed as a breakthrough at the time, the proposals include raising the legal marriage age and expanding women's custody rights, said Justice Minister Abdelatif Ouahbi.

The new legislation, which still require parliamentary and royal approval, comes after two years of consultations with civil society as well as judicial and religious parties.

Women's rights advocates in the North African country had demanded full equality in inheritance and child custody, and a total ban on child marriage -- which the new proposals appear to fall short of.

According to Ouahbi, who laid out the reforms in a news conference in Rabat, the legal marriage age would remain 18, but the minimum age for exemptions -- currently at 15 -- would rise to 17.

Parental guardianship, previously granted automatically to fathers, would now be shared by both parents even if they separate, and divorced mothers would no longer risk losing custody of their children if they choose to remarry, Ouahbi said.

On inheritance, where Moroccan women currently receive half the share awarded by law to their male siblings, the reforms offer an alternative by allowing unrestricted donations to female heirs, including minors.

Polygamy, while limited under the current family law, would still be allowed but subject to stricter rules that would require a wife's consent before her husband can marry another.

The minister set no timeline, with the amended code still awaiting a legislative process. King Mohammed VI is expected to have the final say in any disputes over the new text.

The reform was ordered by the monarch in 2022, and a committee tasked with drafting the amendments was formed in September last year. It submitted its recommendations in March.

Known as "Mudawana", Morocco's family law was adopted in 2004 and was seen as progressive at the time even as women's rights defenders have deemed it inadequate.