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Moroccan judges address the new Family Code and women's human rights

HREA conducts national roundtable for judges about the Moudawana in Rabat

On 14-16 September 2005, 25 family judges participated in a roundtable organised by HREA in Rabat, Morocco. The training, executed in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Institut de Magistrats, involved presentations and interactive discussions among the judges who are intimately involved in the implementation of the Moudawana.

Twenty family (sitting) judges and five (head) prosecutors were invited to the roundtable. Each day focused on a core theme related to the Moudawana, the revised Family Code. These themes are the act of marriage (legal conditions for marriage); married life (the rights and duties of spouses); mediation (alternative dispute resolution); and the dissolution of marriage (divorce). A full report of the training will be made available at the end of October.

HREA is currently developing a training manual for judges, which will be used in the regional trainings in Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech and Tetouan scheduled for the fall of 2005 and spring 2006. The manual will focus on the intentions of the Moudawana as contained in its legal form and concerns that have arisen during the first year of implementation. There will be an emphasis on case study method and an introduction to mediation as an alternative form of dispute resolution It will also include exercises based on real cases gathered from civil society and judges and human rights instruments (the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other international standards and treaties).

Background

On 25 January 2004, the parliament of Morocco adopted the Moudawana, a new landmark Family Code supporting women's equality and granting them new rights in marriage and divorce. According to outside observers, this is the most wide-reaching social reform since Morocco gained independence. HREA in cooperation with members of Moroccan civil society and the Ministries of Justice and National Education is carrying out key activities in order to promote the implementation of the revised Moudawana, or new Family Code.

(1) Capacity-building trainings of newly appointed family judges in order to:

  • familiarize them with the content of the revised Moudawana;
  • encourage proactive implementation of the law;
  • promote further training of family judges.

    (2) A gender-based review of school textbooks in order to:

  • promote tolerance and respect for women's equality in the content and messages of schoolbooks;
  • result in concrete changes in the subsequent revision of textbooks by the Ministry of National Education, enhancing their permanent capacity in this area;
  • prepare involved NGOs and teacher volunteers for future training in the area of women's human rights in Morocco.

    For further information, please contact Mr. Abderrahim Sabir, Senior Programme Associate for the Middle East/North Africa in HREA's Casablanca office: rsabir@hrea.ma.



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    Full text of the Moudawana (English) [AR] [FR]

    Full text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) [AR] [FR]

    National training on gender-review of textbooks in Casablanca (HREA Online, January 2005)
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