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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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2 POWER AND POLITICS WE ORGANISE, THEREFORE WE AREHOW CHANGE HAPPENS CASE STUDYWINNING WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN MOROCCOIn 2004 women’s organisations in Morocco won a remarkable vic<strong>to</strong>rywhen Parliament unanimously approved a new Islamic Family Code thatradically strengthened the rights of women. The reforms included theright <strong>to</strong> decide legal matters without the guardianship of a male, equalresponsibility over the household and children, and the need for consentfrom both husband and wife <strong>to</strong> dissolve a marriage.Activists had sought reforms since the early 1960s, but in 1992 theUnion de l’Action Feminine (UAF) launched a grassroots campaign <strong>to</strong>change the set of family laws known as the Moudawana. They collectedmore than a million signatures on a petition and won the first legislativeamendments the following year. Though major issues such as polygamyand divorce were left virtually un<strong>to</strong>uched, a father could now no longercompel his daughter <strong>to</strong> marry. Activists saw these early reforms as acritical success, ensuring that the Moudawana could no longer beportrayed as sacred and unalterable.Women’s rights groups continued <strong>to</strong> mobilise, opting <strong>to</strong> work withinthe framework of Islam, arguing that the conservative interpretationenshrined in family law ran counter <strong>to</strong> the true spirit of the Koran.Activist Rabéa Naciri recalls: ‘We chose not <strong>to</strong> separate the universalhuman rights framework from the religious framework. We maintainedthat Islam is not opposed <strong>to</strong> women’s equality and dignity and should notbe presented as such… Islamic law is a human and his<strong>to</strong>rical production,and consequently is able <strong>to</strong> evolve, <strong>to</strong> fulfil the current needs of Muslimmen and women.’A key moment in the campaign was the vic<strong>to</strong>ry of the socialis<strong>to</strong>pposition in the 1997 election. The political opportunity for women’svoices <strong>to</strong> be heard further increased when the liberal King Mohamed VIassumed the throne in 1999. In an address <strong>to</strong> Parliament, the Kingpublicly supported women’s quest for equality. Seizing the moment,women’s rights activists came <strong>to</strong>gether <strong>to</strong> create a Plan of Action for theIntegration of Women in Development (PANIFD in the Frenchacronym), which included the key tenets of the UN’s Beijing PlatformCASE STUDY67

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