Morocco's implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Discrimination agaisnt women in Morocco only (response to CEDAW)

Discrimination against Women in Morocco

Women have been discriminated against since the beginnings of time and the process is far from being eliminated. The only thing that has changed is the degree and gravity of discrimination - whereas in some countries the husband still has the right to decide whether his wife lives on, in other countries the women are discriminated against in the meaning that they register lower salaries.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was implemented by the United Nations in 1979 and its aim is to protect women against discriminatory policies and actions and to establish equality between genders. In order to best understand how the CEDAW was implemented in Morocco, one should first analyze the regulations and the discriminatory specifics within the North African country.

Discrimination against Women and the CEDAW

Discrimination refers to the "the practice of treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way." Discrimination practices are extremely common nowadays, despite the intense efforts to reduce and even eliminate them. There are numerous forms of discrimination, including, but not limited to, age discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual orientation or religious discrimination. All forms of discrimination are considered illegal and several institutions have been formed to identify, limit and even punish discriminators.

A most common category of group constantly subjected to discriminative practices is the women. Discrimination against women is defined as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."

In past times, women were not allowed to work outside the homes, they were not allowed to vote or speak in public, and in some cultures, the man of the house had the right to decide whether the women under his roof lived or died. Here are but a few examples of discrimination against women, including all levels of unfairness:

Women earn 70 cents for every dollar earned by a man; and only half of this difference can be explained by education, qualification or previous expertise

Between 1985 and 1986 alone, more than 2,300 Indian brides were killed in dowry disputes. The killing of brides, usually by burning, as an expression of dissatisfaction with the dowry, has become one of the scourges of modern India." And these are the official statistics only, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher

China is renowned for their trafficking of women blind girl in Pakistan, raped and impregnated, was stoned to death for illegal sex

Most of these countries have presently implemented numerous acts that prohibit discrimination against women, or at least rethink the punishments and the men's rights over the women. Such a document is the CEDAW, or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The act was "adopted by the General Assembly in 1979. In 1981, the Convention entered into force and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was formally established. The major task of the Committee is to review the reports submitted by the States parties in order to oversee the implementation of the Convention." total of 185 countries have subscribed to CEDAW so far and the main purpose of the act is to offer women security and protection against any discriminatory actions. It promotes women's equality to men and grants them free access to the social, cultural, economic and political worlds.

All regulations imposed by the treaty must be respected by the 185 signatory countries. "By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:

to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women; to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises."

The men who abuse their wives suffer limited to no consequences

The rate of prostitution increases due to numerous rapes and the fact than consequently to the rapes, the family renegades the rape victim and throws her in the street

There still exist places where men and women are kept separately, such as gyms, public baths and mosques

In October, 2003, King Mohammed VI held a conference in which he announced the new regulations and policies on the rights of women. It basically stated equal rights and the importance of free will. His main argument for the new rules was the intended development of the country and the fact that a modern and civilized world must respect its women. "How can a society advance while the rights of women are squandered and they are subjected to injustice, violence and marginalisation?" But the regulations on human and family rights have yet to be fully implemented and the act remains one that shows that Moroccan women are amongst the most emancipated women in the Arabian world - at least in theory.

4. CEDAW in Morocco

Morocco adhered to the CEDAW in 1993 but took the liberty of making several adjustments. Basically, they stated they would accept the rights of women as long as these did not interfere with the constitution and religion of Morocco. This empowered the legislative authorities to still control the women and did not allow them the full rights in the CEDAW. Up until now, the Moroccan state authorities have submitted three activity reports, in 1994, 1997 and 2000. "In each report, Morocco demonstrated progress towards reforming the legal code and improving the status of women."

Through the CEDAW, the United Nations implemented a wide series of regulations aimed at protecting the Moroccan women. These regulations included:

restriction of polygamy restriction of women's obedience to their husbands equal access to jobs and education reduction of domestic violence easier access to politics and leading positions

The report in 2000 highlighted the measures of the Moroccan government to integrate women in development. The measures were implemented by Prime Minster El-Yousoufi and were organized into the National Plan for the Integration of Women in Development. "The section of the plan on reforming the personal status code would, among other things, raise the minimum age for marriage for girls and women to 18, outlaw polygamy with the exception of certain cases, give women better access to judicial divorce and allow divorced mothers to retain custody of their children if they remarry."

However true equality between genders has yet to be achieved, efforts have been made to increase women's rights to fair treatment. For instance, the United Nations have implemented the CEDAW in close collaboration with the World Organization Against Torture in order to reduce violence against Moroccan women. But domestic violence has not been eliminated. Nor have other discriminatory traditions, such as polygamy. "Although the practice of polygamy is declining, it continues to be a threat to women, as it undermines a woman's dignity, perpetuates notions of male dominance, and above all creates domestic environments where women become vulnerable to abuse because they are in the difficult position of agreeing to their husbands' marriage or asking for divorce." Under the CEDAW, the United Nations have increased their efforts to reduce polygamy and in their report, stated: "Polygamous marriage contravenes a woman's right to equality with men and can have such serious emotional and financial consequences for her and her dependents that such marriages ought to be discouraged and prohibited."

The application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in Morocco has also highlighted some disturbing facts in the constitution of the North African country. For instance, however it implied the equality between genders, it nowhere clearly specified it, leaving as such room for interpretations. Then, the Moroccan law forbade women to declare their children Moroccans if the father, whether the husband or not, was of a different nationality. The CEDAW offered them this right.

5. Conclusions

Morocco has implemented the CEDAW and has increased their efforts to reduce discrimination against women and promote gender equality. But the country remains divided between traditionalists and modernists, and the populations' mentality cannot be changed through international regulations. The regulations in the CEDAW were supported by the Morocco King Mohammed IV who implemented a wide series of laws to support women's rights. But the measures only fuelled the everlasting controversy between liberals and conservatives. "An estimated 100,000 people marched in Rabat in support of the government's proposed reforms in March 2000, while a counter-demonstration led by Islamists in Casablanca drew 200,000 to 500,000. As the new monarch began to liberalize Moroccan politics, women's rights became a flashpoint for the growing Islamist opposition."