VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0222/01 3261711
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211711Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8205
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0018
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0382
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 3831
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT IMMEDIATE 2366
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 0670
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 0141

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000222 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND G/DRL/TIP AND WMN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KWMN KTIP KISL MO
SUBJECT: THE MARRIAGE OF MINORS, POLYGAMY AND DIVORCE: THE 
MUDAWANA FOUR YEARS ON 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: (U) Women,s groups and the media roundly 
criticized the government,s failure to implement some 
aspects of the Mudawana or family code nearly four years 
after the ground-breaking reforms were passed. The criticism 
was prompted by a recent report by the Democratic League for 
the Rights of Women (LDDF) which shows that the number of 
requests for marriage of minor girls has increased over the 
last few years and that judges approved these requests in 
nearly 90% of all cases.  The LDDF is a respected NGO, whose 
views tend to reflect a broader consensus in the moderate 
feminist community.  The report also sheds insight into the 
state of polygamy and divorce in Morocco and the achievements 
and shortcomings of the government in enforcing these 
reforms. END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------- 
The Mudawana: Family Code Reform 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The landmark reforms contained in the Mudawana were 
passed in 2004 after a contentious battle within the Moroccan 
society that saw stringent opposition from Islamic and 
conservative groups who characterized the reforms as an 
attack on Islamic and Moroccan tradition.  The reforms 
finally were passed when King Mohammed VI intervened in their 
favor and brokered a compromise.  The Mudawana reforms made 
divorce procedures more equitable by abolishing divorce by 
repudiation and gave women greater legal independence by 
removing the need for a woman to have a male &marriage 
tutor8 oversee the negotiation of her marriage contract. 
Most importantly, the new law raised the minimum age of 
marriage from 15 to 18 years of age and required that a judge 
approve any requests for underage marriages and polygamy. 
 
--------------------------- 
Obstacles to Implementation 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The NGO Ligue Democratique Pour les Droits des Femmes 
(Democratic League for the Rights of Women - LDDF) released 
its annual report on implementation of the Mudawana in early 
October to commemorate the Moroccan Day of the Woman.  The 
figures quoted in their report were taken from the Moroccan 
Ministry of Justice as well as from seven regional courts 
including large urban centers such as Casablanca, Rabat, and 
Marrakech.  The President of LDDF, Fouzia Assouli, told 
poloff that despite significant reform, the Mudawana was 
written to give family court judges discretionary power to 
adjudicate petitions which she believes have been widely 
abused.  Assouli reported that often families, especially in 
rural areas, will marry their daughters and then present them 
to the judge as a fait accompli.  Moreover, she claimed that 
in addition to some judges, &backward mentality8 there is 
widespread bribing of judges to ensure a favorable outcome. 
 
------------------ 
Marriage of Minors 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) Although the marriage of minors accounts for only 10% 
of all marriages in Morocco, many women,s rights groups view 
it as a litmus test of the government,s resolve to implement 
the Mudawana reforms.  The report by the LDDF shows that in 
2007 there were 38,710 marriage requests for minors, an 
increase of 28% in comparison to 30,312 in 2006.  Notably, 
petitions for minor marriages in rural areas increased by 
50%, whereas urban area requests only increased 9%.  The 
overall approval rate of all underage marriage requests 
remained steady at around 88% for the last two years.  Nearly 
70% of the requests involved girls who were at least 17 years 
of age, an improvement from 2006 when 17-year-olds only 
accounted for 44% of the total.  Still, there were 159 cases 
of 14 year old girls approved for marriage in 2007 and 1,862 
of 15 year olds.  Assouli attributes the overall high 
approval numbers to corruption and the conservative mentality 
of judicial officials. 
 
--------- 
Polygamy: 
--------- 
 
¶5. (U) The Mudawana reformed polygamy laws by requiring a 
husband to notify his current wife and seek permission from a 
 
judge before taking a second wife.  Furthermore, a man must 
demonstrate that he has the financial means to support a 
second wife and he may also be required by the judge to 
provide an "exceptional objective argument" such as a medical 
reason (i.e. the infertility of the first wife). The LDDF 
report indicates that both the number of petitions and the 
acceptance rate for marrying a second wife remained largely 
unchanged from last year.  In 2006 there were 1,450 petitions 
with an acceptance rate of 31% and in 2007 there were 1,427 
petitions with an acceptance of 30%.  These numbers are a 
significant change from 2005, the year immediately following 
the passage of the Mudawana, when there was an 85% acceptance 
rate.  The Ministry of Justice, however, has not provided any 
statistics on the number of petitions that were approved in 
¶2005. 
 
-------- 
Divorce: 
-------- 
 
¶6. (U) Prior to the passage of the Mudwana reforms, a husband 
could in practice divorce his wife by repudiation and was not 
required to notify her until the divorce was final.  The 
Mudawana now includes greater legal protections to ensure 
that a woman receives financial compensation from a divorce 
and cannot be forced out of the family home if she is the 
guardian of the children.  Prior to the reforms a woman 
seeking to initiate a divorce had limited options that were 
often prejudicial to her financial interests. A woman could 
obtain either a Khula (compensation) divorce where she paid 
compensation (usually her dowry) to her husband or file a 
Shikak (complaint) citing the husband,s failure to fulfill 
his marital obligations.  The Mudawana reforms created a new 
class of divorce by mutual consent.  The total number of 
divorces per year between 2005 and 2006 has remained steady 
around 28,000 cases.  There was a decrease of 10% in the 
number of Khula divorces and increase by 22% of mutual 
consent divorces between 2006 and 2007. The number of Shikak 
divorces increased by 80% from 10,313 in 2006 to 18,562 in 
2007, a fact that Assouli attributes to women being more 
aware of their rights and thus seeking compensation. 
 
¶7. (U) Perhaps the most telling statistic is the marked 
decrease in the number of total divorces in the country from 
50,763 in 1998 to 27,904 in 2007 or a decrease of 55%. 
Assouli credits the decrease in the divorce rate to the 
Mudawana reforms and believes that since husbands are no 
longer able to divorce their wives without providing 
financial compensation they are more reluctant to do so. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The government of Morocco, relative to 
other Arab countries, has made great strides in advancing the 
legal rights of women.  However, the LDDF report demonstrates 
that in some areas it has failed to ensure the reforms are 
comprehensively implemented and that judicial officials are 
held accountable for failing to protect minors.  Morocco has 
an activist and energetic women,s rights movement which 
strives to hold the government to account.  The woman's 
movement is also pushing for greater legal reform and 
considers changing the inequitable inheritance laws which 
favors male inheritors to be a top priority. END COMMENT. 
 
¶9. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy Rabat. 
MILLARD