Casablanca, Morocco — This week, the 118th session of the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee examined the 6th periodic report from the Moroccan government, and the Moroccan delegation faced harsh criticism when the committee examined status of women’s rights.
Moroccan publication Medias24 reported that on Monday October 24th and Tuesday the 25th, the UN Committee asked delegates from the Moroccan government several questions about the status of women’s rights, especially violence against women.
In anticipation of this meeting, Mobilizing for Rights Associates, an international non-profit women’s rights organization, had paired up with a multitude of Moroccan non-profits to conduct a study about women’s rights in Morocco, one focused on women’s rights in the family and violence against women.
According to Medias24, the UN asked the delegation about the following:
- The absence of civil protection orders for female victims of violence in the law project #103-13
- The fact that rape victims could also be prosecuted for taking part in sex outside of marriage
- The lack of housing centers for victims of domestic abuse
- The persistence of polygamy and child marriage
- Discrimination against women in divorce cases
The committee also reminded the delegates that they had asked the government in 2004 to make abortion laws more liberal. Delegates simply replied that a new law project relating to violence against women was already presented to the parliament and is pending review.
