‘Ch9a Hta Howa Khdma’: Moroccan Women March for Fair Share of Housework

Rabat – A group of Moroccan women took to the streets of Casablanca to demand recognition and fair sharing of unpaid domestic labor under the slogan “House Work is Work too.”

The march, coinciding with International Workers’ Day, was organized by the Tahadi Association for Equality and Citizenship with support from UN Women Morocco.

The march is part of a wider campaign aiming to shed light on the unpaid household work that many women carry out every day in silence. The campaign calls for recognizing care work as an essential part of social justice and encourages men and women to share household tasks more fairly.

During the protest, participants held signs demanding equality in domestic work, including cooking, washing dishes, and taking care of children. They stressed that justice starts at home.

UN Women Morocco said that the project aims to “challenge gender stereotypes that assign these responsibilities primarily to women, thereby limiting their educational, professional, and economic opportunities.”

Demands for the recognition of women’s housework, which have been raised for years by activists and feminist organizations, were addressed in the Moudawana reform suggestions announced in December.

The proposed reforms to the family code suggest legally recognizing a wife’s domestic labor, such as housework and caregiving, as a financial contribution to the wealth accumulated during marriage.

This would allow women to claim a share of that wealth, particularly in cases like divorce, treating unpaid domestic work as an economic asset.

However, the proposal has sparked widespread debate and faced opposition from many Moroccans, including political and religious figures.

Abdelilah Benkirane, head of the PJD party and former head of government, rejected this proposal, saying that a woman’s housework is “priceless” and cannot be measured in money.

He called the proposal “an insult to women,” asserting that only God can reward such work because it never stops and cannot be compensated financially. He also warned that introducing money into domestic life could turn families into spaces of dispute instead of compassion and cooperation.