Moroccan women have had limited autonomy in private and public life throughout their history. Islam was introduced to Morocco in the late 7th century, and has reigned ever since (Britannica). The influence of Islam, many have argued, has led to the imposition of many patriarchal structures and practices in Morocco, including the forced seclusion of women, limited legal protections for women, the veiling of women, and the imposition of social and legal power of families over women (Badran).
In the mid-20th century, while Morocco was under French colonial rule, women often stayed in harems. Harems were all-female households in which family members lived and worked together; no men were allowed in harems except for husbands, and women could not leave their harem without a man’s permission (Thirdeyemom). Women could only attend Koranic schools, which focused near-exclusively on religious education; this kept women from economic participation and kept women from being truly autonomous (Thirdeyemom). This shows how until fairly recently, women’s presence in the public sphere was tremendously limited.
Morocco was ranked 119th in the United Nations Gender Inequality index; only a quarter of women are employed in Morocco, and the maternal mortality rate was at 121 deaths for every 100,000 live births (United Nations). Morocco remains a Muslim country, and accordingly, the Qu’ran remains to be the foundation of law in Morocco; because the Qu’ran advocates a patriarchal social system, men have advantages over women under the law (Britannica).
Recently, legal action has been taken to bolster the rights of women in Morocco. In 2004, the Moroccan parliament made legal reforms to try and correct family law injustices (Britannica). In 2018, Moroccan women gained legal protection from some forms of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and mistreatment; however, these laws are woefully inadequate in some regards — marital rape, for example, is not criminalized under this law (Middle East Eye, 2018). Over 40% of Moroccan women have suffered an act of violence, which suggests a pervasive culture of violence and misogyny (Middle East Eye, 2018). Overall, while women are certainly gaining status in Morocco, there is a lot of progress yet to be made. The gradual liberalization of Islamic values in Morocco is allowing for greater freedoms for women.
Take a look at this interesting article about
gender equality changes in the law last year.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/morocco-gender-equality-law-goes-effect
Badran, M. (n.d.). Dossier 4: Islam, Patriarchy, and Feminism in the Middle East. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from http://www.wluml.org/fr/node/249
U. (n.d.). Human Development Reports. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII
Melancon, N. (2018, April 14). Women in Morocco. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from https://thirdeyemom.com/2011/04/25/1084/
Miller, S. G., & Barbour, N. (2019, February 27). Morocco. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco/The-Spanish-Zone
Moroccoculture 