Visao: underlines King Mohammed's will to improve women's condition
Morocco, Politics, 8/29/2003

The Portuguese magazine "Visao" underlined in this week's issue the importance of King Mohammed VI's speech wherein he called for a "new Revolution" of the King and the People, voiced firm will to improve women's condition.

The weekly's special envoy to Rabat, Patricia Fonceca, who met several Moroccan officials, mainly adviser to the king, Zoulikha Nasri, and Director of the Moroccan Tourism Office, Fathia Bennis, emphasized the importance of the speech wherein the sovereign stressed the necessity of doing justice to Moroccan women and emancipating her.

The commission in charge of revising the Mudawana (Moroccan family code) will submit the new version in September, and the text, which will be submitted to the King's approval, will start a "legal revolution" with an "enormous impact" on Moroccans' life in fields of divorce, legal age of marriage, children guardianship and inheritance, the magazine says.

Zoulikha Nasri, the adviser to the king, the "highest position ever occupied by a woman in Morocco," as the magazine puts it, said "the sovereign has shown determination to resolve the issue since his enthronement in 1999, and significant steps has been made since."

"But, Nasri goes on, it is useless for a woman to be minister, ambassador, judge or police officer if she does not have the same legal and civil rights as the man.

Of course, there will always be dissatisfied people, but the majority of Moroccans support king Mohammed VI's determination to emancipate women."

On her part, Fathia Bennis, chief of the tourism office and first woman to head the Moroccan stock market, lauded "the historic change," describing it as a "giant step on the irreversible path of democracy, which would not have been possible in Morocco without its "young king who understands the necessity of resolving this fundamental issue."

Previous Stories:
  Former Moroccan premier calls for banning use of money on polls   (8/28/2003)
  Moroccan women encouraged to massively run for election in local poll   (8/27/2003)
  King Mohammed: Decision on new Family Code to be announced soon   (8/21/2003)

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