As the world undergoes unprecedented development and innovation, economic growth and technological breakthroughs, child marriage stands as an impediment facing developed, emerging, and developing countries alike.
Despite recent efforts at legal reform to eradicate the practice in Morocco, child marriage remains a prevalent practice, especially in rural areas. According to a new report by UNICEF entitled “The State of the World’s Children 2023,” the percentage of Moroccan girls married before the age of 18 was 14% between 2015 and 2021, and 64% of these teenaged married girls experienced violence and abuse.
Many factors that perpetuate child marriage in Morocco are deeply rooted in traditions and social norms that prioritize sacrificing the development, education, and futures of young girls over the family assuming its responsibilities over girls. In many rural communities, girls are seen as financial burdens, and marrying them off at a young age is perceived as a way to alleviate expenses on the family.
Patriarchal society, poverty, lack of access to education, and inadequate school infrastructure also significantly perpetuate this phenomenon in Morocco, making young girls more vulnerable to early marriage. Adolescent girls are generally discouraged from self-selecting their spouse and deciding on the timing of marriage, choices which may be deemed as defying the family’s, particularly the father’s authority.
From a legal perspective, Morocco’s family law (Moudawana) is embedded in the sacred texts of the Qur’an, making it difficult to separate religion from family affairs. However, there have been reforms in recent years.
Article 19 of the Moudawana provides that the legal age for marriage is 18 years old. However, Article 20 enables a family matters judge to authorize the marriage of a girl or boy below the legal age after hearing the parents’ or the legal guardian’s justification and after reviewing a medical certificate demonstrating that the child is physically fit for marriage and free from any impeding factors.
Article 21 of the Moudawana provides that “the marriage of a minor is contingent on the consent of his/her legal guardian and indicated by the minor’s and the guardian’s signature.” If the minor’s legal guardian refuses to consent, “the Family Matters Judge rules on the matter.”
A number of human rights organizations, NGOs, and associations have taken the position that these articles of the Moudawana are paradoxical and provide significant loopholes in the law that thousands take advantage of to move forward with marriages that would not otherwise be warranted to the detriment of girls, women, and society.
In a royal message, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI issued last year a directive to Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch to review the Family Law within six months to develop recommendations to empower and support women in particular, and the family in general. The King also assigned supervision of this project to the Ministry of Justice, the Higher Council of the Judiciary, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor.
The Monarch called on other public and civil society institutions to be part of this reform, including the Supreme Council of Ulema (religious scholars), the National Council for Human Rights, the Ministry of the Family, and other civil society organizations, researchers, and specialists.
In the same vein, Project Soar, a non-profit organization focused on empowering and facilitating positive change in young girls and women, in partnership with the Regional Academy of Education and Training (AREF), held a conference on Wednesday in Marrakech to address child marriage. Entitled “Beyond Borders: Combating Child Marriage and Dropping Out of School in the Marrakech-Safi Region,” the conference was part of the BIGGER El Ouidane Movement project, a national movement funded by Civil Society In Development (CISU).
A gallery featuring the powerful photography of British photographer Alan Keohane vibrantly visualized the heartbreaking impacts of child marriage. Through his photographs, he depicted the harsh realities and challenges faced by young girls forced into early marriages, capturing both the innocence of childhood and the weight of adult responsibilities on their young shoulders. Each image told a poignant story of struggle, resilience, and hope for a better future.
The images portrayed a mixture of raw emotions and stark vulnerability. In many of them, the girls’ eyes spoke louder than words, reflecting a dark sense of their inner resignation and loss of innocence alternating with fear and the determination to say “No” to everything that could destroy their childhood. In some of the photos, one could feel a glimmer of hope trying to emerge through a backdrop of despair.
Along with the photographs of girls, there were also other pictures of educational staff, not only women, but also men, whose comments touched upon the many challenges girls living in villages face, including lack of transportation to school, lack of safety and security, and the high cost of menstrual hygiene products.
Director of AREF Moulay Ahmed Karimi said that social support is a “fundamental pillar” in combating school dropout and improving education and learning.
Significant efforts are being made, he said, in various projects related to establishing boarding facilities, improving the quality of services, and providing school transportation to expand the offerings and enhance the quality of education. He noted the “One Million School Bags” Royal Initiative during the 2019-2020 school year and the “Tayssir” program, which have had a positive impact in reducing school dropout rates.
He highlighted the Academy’s collaboration with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and its partners from civil society to improve indicators of school dropout, and Morocco’s roadmap for education reform 2022-2026.
Founder and Executive Director of Project Soar Maryam Montague told BarlamanToday that “one in seven girls find themselves married underage, and every time a girl gets married she stops her studies, and it is a detriment to her future.”
“When a child drops out of school it is a detriment to her family and community and for the school system. Every child who gets married is a loss to society,” Montague asserted.
When asked if Project Soar had submitted any proposals to reform the Family Law, the director said that the organization had sent a team of girls to the Parliament to request amendments to the Family Law and stop child marriage and its repercussions. Project SOAR and MRA Rights Associates submitted a joint legislative proposal on October 25, 2022, to eliminate the marriage of children under the age of 18.
“An image is worth one thousand words. Most of the activists in the pictures are men, and that means that child marriage is not just a girls’ issue, it is a community issue,” she noted.
Photographer, Alan Keohane told Barlaman Today that his photographs were on display in the exhibition to “support the words and quotations of the teachers and representatives of the Moroccan education system,” and to show the “hard truths that people need to know.”
In discussing how his photos can help reduce child marriage in Morocco, Keohane said, “If we want to make a difference today, to make tomorrow better, we have to reach the decision-makers. We have to get our message to the parliamentarians, to the government, to the people who are going to make decisions about our future.”
Events such as this and their outreach to the general public, especially through media coverage, are really important, he said.
“I was part of the Bigger Movement that is about stopping child marriage in Morocco by 2025,” a Project Soar graduate told us. “We had training and met lawyers to learn more about the laws concerning this issue and how to stop it. Then, we came back to our villages and had community dialogues with parents and youth about the danger of child marriage.”
She said that a group of girls participating in the organization’s programs met with ambassadors and ministers in Rabat and discussed with them their endeavors and what women and girls are calling for.
A 16-year-old member of the Young Arab Feminist Coalition told us, “it is inspiring to see young girls defending women’s rights and it is a perfect thing that a woman backs another woman.” Such events should be more widespread, she suggested, to share the information with other people and raise awareness about this issue.
Child marriage has negative repercussions on Women’s socio-economic future. Morocco’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE) recently issued a report entitled “Child Marriage and Its Negative Repercussions on Their Economic and Social Status,” addressing the effects of child marriage in Morocco and warning that it may jeopardize minor girls’ prospects for success by excluding them from education and training and limiting their opportunities for economic participation.
The report found that early marriage has a detrimental impact not only on the future social and financial position of girls after maturity, but also on the country’s overall economic and social growth and potential GDP.
The council’s data showed that only 47.6% of girls aged 15 to 17 in rural regions are enrolled in schools, compared to about 56.4% of boys, suggesting a disparity in access to education for rural girls. Not surprisingly, the report found that women married under the age of 18 have a lower level of economic participation in Morocco’s economy.