Oxfam in Morocco

Oxfam International is a non-governmental organization (NGO) designed to help eliminate global poverty. Part of its mission includes establishing democratic practices throughout the Arab world; Oxfam seeks to achieve this by advocating for economically and legally disadvantaged women, encouraging civic participation from disenfranchised communities, and fostering sustainable economic growth (Oxfam 2019). Oxfam has been involved in Morocco since 1994, and has had a meaningful impact on the country; this was particularly the case after the Arab Spring in 2011, when Morocco sought major constitutional overhaul (Oxfam 2019). In 2011, there was significant political instability to Morocco when the streets were flooded with pro-democracy protests; King Muhammad understood that he needed to respond to the people’s criticisms by creating an independent judicial branch and expanding parliamentary power (Encyclopedia Britannica 2019). Despite this surge in activism, by 2016, many issues persisted in Morocco; little progress was made regarding reform, protests over poverty and poor working conditions broke out, and progress regarding women’s rights had minimally progressed (Encyclopedia Britannica 2019). Moroccan women have more legal protections than they did under Sharia law, but men still have significant advantages over women, particularly in inheritance law and divorce court situations (Encyclopedia Britannica 2019).

While the progress made by Oxfam has been somewhat limited, Oxfam’s presence has helped reinforce change in Moroccan society. One of the ways that Oxfam does this is by emphasizing “the supremacy of international law over national law” (Oxfam 2019 para 2). This is ethically challenging, as it reduces the importance of Moroccan social mores in order to bolster the generally secular, western values, which the United Nations represents. While there certainly are contexts in which international law should unquestionably take precedence, particularly when violence, health, and poverty are concerned, to assert that international values should always come first is to risk alienating the countries and cultures that this type of intervention claims to help. Real socio-political change should prominently include, if not primarily focus on, conversations within countries, which seek to organically reevaluate their existing values.

Check out the links below for more information:

Encyclopedia Britannica. The Spanish Zone. Morocco. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco/The-Spanish-Zone. (2019).

Oxfam. Morocco. Retrieved from

https://www.oxfam.org/en/countries/morocco (2019).

Women and Oxfam. Please see the link below for more information.