New family code has rendered justice to Moroccan women, says royal advisor

The new Family Code has come to render justice to the Moroccan woman and to consecrate the dignity of men and women, said an adviser to King Mohammed VI.

Mrs Zoulikha Nasri who was addressing on Tuesday a meeting themed "the Family Code, which role for the Civil Society?" said reforming, for the first time, the 1957 Personal Status code (Mudawana), now called Family Code, is "a landmark that reflects the emergence of a modernist project based on the attachment to the Islamic reference and to democracy."

The reform of this code was announced by King Mohammed VI last October 10 at the opening of the parliament's fall session.

Participants in the meeting insisted on the need to implement all the provisions of this code which has still to go to parliament for discussion.

Termed as "revolutionary" the new Family Code that use a more modern wording, include raising the age of marriage age for girls to 18, places the family under the joint responsibility of spouses and imposes stringent conditions that make polygamy almost impossible.