Moroccan Family Law: Reflections from a Women’s Organization

Abstract

An association that helps women in difficult situation in Essaouira, in Morocco is the starting point to discuss the public debates around Family Law and the contours of its application in that country. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that any debate on women’s emancipation on Muslim realities should not be confined to considerations about the religious and cultural prescriptions and should, instead, focus on the political, economic, and social realities. This article addresses the work of an association and its beneficiaries, mostly women from the Moroccan popular background, to reflect on the implementation of Family law and on gender issues, especially women’s dependence on and subjection to men.