Moroccan Court Rules Against Husband Suing Wife for Refusing Sex

Rabat – Rabat’s family court has issued a judicial decision rejecting a man’s request to compel his wife to have intercourse with him.

The man filed a lawsuit before the Family Judiciary Department in Rabat back in July 2019 claiming that his wife has refused to have a sexual relationship with him despite being legally married.

The decision dates back to March 9, after the court dismissed the husband’s request, judging that sexual intercourse “is a right and duty of both the husband and the wife,” and arguing that the wife’s refusal is a practice of the said right.

Article 51 of Morocco’s Family Code confers on both spouses the same obligations towards each other, namely: cohabitation, mutual respect, fidelity, goodwill, family rights, inheritance rights, and respect for the spouse’s family.

In its ruling, the court considered that the aim of sexual intercourse within marriage was not only to satisfy instinctive desires but also to share the etiquette of cohabitation, which must be adhered to by the spouses and followed only by mutual consent.

The court also affirmed that “sexual intercourse may not be carried forcibly through a court ruling as it contradicts the religious purpose of intercourse, which aims to strengthen the relationship between the spouses.”

Many social media users commended the court’s decision for not tolerating marital rape in the name of the religion.

In a male-dominated society, many men believe that it is a religious order for women to have sexual intercourse within the framework of marriage, even if they don’t want to, or they will be seen as disobeying God and Islam.

Many Muslim scholars continue to believe that a women who denies her husband sexual intercourse is cursed by angels.

In 2019, a UN report called for a number of changes in the Moroccan penal code, including the criminalization of marital rape, and repealing provisions that exonerate offenders if they marry a woman they raped or kidnapped.

“Morocco’s Law on Violence against Women, Law no. 103-13, did not amend the Penal Code provision on rape, which does not list marriage among aggravating circumstances for sentencing rape offenders. In addition, prosecutions are not reported,” the report noted.

Despite several laws aimed at protecting women from violence and harassments to promote gender equality, such issues remain widespread within Moroccan society.