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A
dvancing
S
ocial
I
ntegration
and
I
ntergenerational
S
olidarity
The Code of Personal Status equalized divorce in that
both men and women could now file for divorce, thus
abolishing all forms of unilateral repudiation. The code
increased women’s custody rights. Inheritance was only
minimally touched for reasons indicated above. Since the
1950s, the Code of Personal Status has been regularly
amended, with another major wave of reforms expanding
women’s citizenship rights in the early 1990s and further
amendments in the 2000s.
Turning now to Morocco, the 2004 reforms received inter-
national attention when they occurred. This is in part because
they were the first reforms of the twenty-first century at a
time when highly conservative interpretations of family law
and gender practices in other Islamic countries occupied the
forefront of public discourse. The 2004 reforms of Morocco
increased women’s rights considerably, although they did not
go as far as the Tunisian reforms. They placed severe restric-
tions on polygamy, and greatly expanded women’s access
to divorce and custody. Like the Tunisian reforms, they left
inheritance essentially untouched.
A major issue repeatedly mentioned in Morocco concerns
the enforcement of the 2004 reforms. Observers complain that
the new laws are not adequately applied. Many judges, trained
in the previous legislation, are sometimes not quite equipped
to legislate according to the new laws. As to the women
themselves, it will take time before they come to a greater
appreciation of their rights and challenge patriarchal norms.
In Tunisia, even though women have made immense
gains through reforms of family law, important dimensions
of gender inequality remain in the law. Issues of domes-
tic violence are insufficiently addressed in legislation and
inheritance continues to be unequal between men and
women. Nevertheless, women’s rights advocates are proud
of the rights enjoyed by Tunisian women and often refer
to the ‘exceptionalism’ of Tunisia in regard to family law in
the Arab world. Following the 2011 Tunisian Revolution
during the Arab Spring, a degree of uncertainty is likely to
prevail in the foreseeable future. Three sets of voices will
be vying to define family law in Tunisia: secularists who
want further reforms, moderate Islamists who are prepared
to keep in place the Code of Personal Status as a hallmark
of Tunisian identity, and hardcore Islamists who are more
inclined to abandon or modify it. Only the future will tell
which voices shape family law.
The variance in country ratings for family law and gender equity in the Arab Islamic world (scored out of 5)
Source: Kelly and Breslin, 2010
Non-discrimination
and access to justice
Autonomy, security, and
freedom of the person
Economic rights
and equal opportunity
Political rights
and civic voice
Social and
cultural rights
Algeria
3.1
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
Bahrain
2.2
2.6
3.1
2.3
2.9
Egypt
3.0
2.9
2.9
2.7
2.6
Iran
1.9
2.1
2.7
2.1
2.5
Iraq
2.7
1.9
2.6
2.6
2.3
Jordan
2.7
2.7
2.9
2.9
2.8
Kuwait
2.2
2.4
3.1
2.4
2.9
Lebanon
2.9
3.0
3.0
2.9
3.1
Libya
2.4
2.6
2.8
1.8
2.5
Morocco
3.1
3.2
2.8
3.1
2.9
Oman
2.1
2.1
2.9
1.8
2.5
Palestine
2.6
2.4
2.9
2.7
2.6
Qatar
2.1
2.3
2.9
1.8
2.5
Saudi Arabia
1.4
1.3
1.7
1.2
1.6
Syria
2.7
2.3
2.9
2.2
2.5
Tunisia
3.6
3.4
3.2
3.1
3.3
UAE
2.0
2.3
3.1
2.0
2.5
Yemen
1.9
1.9
1.9
2.0
2.0