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Join on Telegram Rabat – As Morocco celebrates Internationl Women’s Day, the country continues to confront deep-rooted gender inequalities, with the practice of child marriage remaining a glaring example. Despite some progress in women’s rights over the years, the persistence of child marriage, still legal under certain exceptions in the country’s family code, underscores the ongoing struggle for true gender equality.
In a report released last February, the country’s Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) advised legislators to recognize child marriage under Law No. 27.14 as a form of human trafficking and abolish articles in the family code that allow for exceptions to the legal marriage age of 18.
Under the current law, family court judges can approve the marriage of minors under 18 if there are “valid reasons” and consent from parents.
According to official statistics, judges approved over 13,000 such exceptions in 2020 alone. More broadly, over 36,000 underage girls have dropped out of school in the past two years due to marriage.
The CESE report argues that child marriage hurts economic and social development, leading to an “intergenerational inheritance of poverty and gender disparities.” It recommends new legal protections for children’s rights and well-being.
Child marriage persists in Morocco despite legal restrictions
Despite laws against child marriage, the practice remains widespread in Morocco.
According to UNICEF, 14% of young females in Morocco were married before 18, between 2015 and 2021.
Their 2023 report highlighted the consequences of early and forced marriages on young girls, including increased risk of sexual and physical abuse. It found that 64% of Moroccan girls in these marriages aged 15-19 believe that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in certain circumstances like burning food or refusing sex.
These alarming statistics reflect ongoing problems with child marriage fueled by factors like poverty, cultural norms, and limited educational opportunities for girls.
Families often see marriage as a way to secure a daughter’s future and reduce economic burdens. Morocco’s patriarchal culture also puts great emphasis on female virginity and purity, pressuring families to marry daughters young to preserve honor. But this frequently subjects girls to abuse within marriages that society condones.
Morocco has tried addressing this issue through initiatives on female education, empowerment, and changing attitudes about gender roles. But legal loopholes still enable child marriage.
While the legal marriage age was raised to 18 in 2004 reforms, Article 20 of the family code gives judges discretion to grant exceptions allowing underage marriages. Article 16, allowing retroactive approval of some customary marriages, also hinders ending child marriage.
Islamic groups invoke religion to defend child marriage
The CESE’s stance aligns with activists who have long pushed back against justifications for child marriage in the country. But the practice retains defenders, especially among Morocco’s Islamist factions.
Several prominent Islamist figures continue to voice support for child marriage in Morocco, often citing religious reasons.
Former Prime Minister Abdellilah Benkirane, head of the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), argued in 2015 that girls aged 16 and 17 are not minors.
Last year, he renewed this stance, saying that criminalizing the practice would imply “our mothers who got married before 17 and 18 years old – it was pedophilia”
Another Islamist group, Al-Adl wa Lihsan (Justice and Charity), has called for tighter regulations around child marriage rather than an outright ban. It wants judges to thoroughly investigate all requests and ensure a minor’s consent before approving.
Specific interpretations of religious stories often underpin Islamist groups’ backing of child marriage. For instance, some contend the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha when she was 6 years old, although consummated when she turned 9, justifies the practice continuing today.
But many experts counter that social and cultural norms were vastly different during that time. They argue today’s standards recognizing child marriage as a human rights violation should prevail and be the new norm throughout the country.
Reforms to Moroccan family code
The debate arises as Morocco weighs a new reform to its family code, known as Moudawana. Last September, King Mohammed VI ordered the government to present amendments within six months.
A key focus of women’s rights advocates is ending child marriage. But there are two other major demands—equal inheritance rights and restricting polygamy.
Under the current system, women inherit half as much as men. And men can take up to four wives if certain conditions are met, while women cannot have multiple husbands.
Activists argue these aspects of family law, along with child marriage exceptions, perpetuate gender discrimination and harm women’s rights. They hope the code reform will align Moroccan law with international conventions like the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
A committee headed by the Minister of Justice is leading a consultation process to shape the amendments. But the final say rests with the King, who heads the Supreme Council of Scholars that issues all religious decrees.
While the CESE report represents progress, some worry there could be significant pushback as the debate intensifies when the actual amendment proposals are finalized.
The coming months will determine where the balance settles between these competing tensions. While the CESE report encourages campaigners, they recognize there is uncertainty ahead given divided public sentiments.
Morocco stands at a crossroads in deciding the status of child marriage. Any reforms will resonate widely as a barometer of progress. Though the future is unwritten, the calls demanding change are only growing louder.
