WOMEN'S NGO SAYS LAW CHANGED, NOT PRACTICE

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000010

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958
TAGS: ECON PHUM PGOV PREL MO
SUBJECT: WOMEN'S NGO SAYS LAW CHANGED, NOT PRACTICE

REF: 06 RABAT 02189


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Volunteers and staff members of the NGO Union for
Women's Action say that while Morocco's new Family Code has brought
some change, its laws are not followed consistently in practice.
Reasons cited include the inclination of some judges to ignore new
statutes, the unwillingness of certain elements of society to accept
change, and the lack of a sufficient awareness campaign. The
organization believes these issues can and should be addressed, but
lacks the resources to pursue its initiatives. END SUMMARY.

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UNION FOR WOMEN'S ACTION
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2. (U) On December 14, 2006, CG and econoff met with Casablanca
representatives of the Union for Women's Action (l'Union de l'Action
Feminine or UAF),an NGO that promotes women's rights, and provides
counseling and training to battered women. Started in 1983 as the
March 8 Movement, after the date of International Women's Day, the
organization became official in 1987. It now has thirty-two branches
in Morocco, and is headquartered in Rabat.


3. (U) About nine women joined the meeting at UAF's SOS Annajda
Center, a counseling facility in Casablanca. The group included
several staff members, as well as several doctors and lawyers who
volunteer their time and services to help the center's clients. The
women counsel victims of violence, and the lawyers among them follow
court cases and arrange mediation sessions for couples who cannot
afford to bring their cases to court.


4. (U) UAF also offers literacy and professional training for women.
According to one staff member, the center began to notice in 2004
that most victims of violence did not have money to support
themselves and their children. This realization led to the creation
of a center to train women in computer skills, embroidery, hair
dressing and other skills that would enable them to become
self-sufficient. The center estimates that it assisted about 400
women in 2004 and 2005, and about 150 in 2006, and demand remains
strong.

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SLOW IMPLEMENTATION OF FAMILY CODE
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5. (U) While the women agreed that recent changes to the Moudawana,
or Family Code, have had an impact, they were quick to detail
implementation shortcomings. To begin, they described the problem of
judges who ignore the new code and continue to authorize polygamy or
marriage for young girls. They emphasized that judges have
significant power to do as they please, and some flout new
provisions, such as divorce, that the Moudawana supports. Citing
another example, the women explained that although the new Moudawana
allows judges to issue restraining orders against abusive spouses,
they frequently do not do so when the need arises. As one woman
aptly put it, the text is there, but enforcement is not.


6. (U) Annajda Center volunteers and staff acknowledged that segments
of Moroccan society do not accept the Moudawana's changes. They
attribute this in part to Morocco's high illiteracy rate, which
approaches seventy-four percent in some areas. They also feel that
the state did not put enough effort into publicizing and explaining
changes in the law. They struggle to combat the perception that the
new code is a law against men, rather than a law for the family.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
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7. (U) UAF representatives had several suggestions for how to put
changes to the Moudawana into practice. They advocate not only
training judges, but also a far-reaching awareness campaign to inform
Moroccans of what the changes actually mean. They would also like to
see demonstrations against ideas that undercut the Moudawana. The
movement to revise the Family Code met with opposition from the time
it was initiated in 1992, and still faces resistance from Islamists
and conservative elements of society.


8. (U) While the women believe changes to the Moudawana are
comprehensive, they see room for improvement. As the law currently
stands, a mother is not always considered the guardian of her
children in case of divorce. This often complicates legal matters,
for example when a father's signature may be required. In addition,
a mother cannot pass her nationality on to her children if she
marries a foreigner. Issues of inheritance also need to be
addressed. Perhaps the biggest change the women desire is more money
and better infrastructure to implement the Family Code's new
provisions. In a city of four million people, Casablanca does not
have the financial or human resources to meet families' demands for
social services.


9. (U) When asked what they considered priorities for UAF's
Casablanca branch, the women at the Annajda Center put full-time
staff at the top of their list. They currently rely heavily on
volunteers, and would like to have their own staff lawyers and social
workers. They would also like to open a shelter for abused women.
The Annajda Center in Rabat has a shelter that can accommodate up to
forty people, but UAF runs no such facility in the larger city of
Casablanca.


10. (SBU) COMMENT: The women who work at UAF's Annajda Center in
Casablanca, whether as staff members or volunteers, are impressive
for both their professional qualifications and their dedication to
UAF. Their ideas about how to help women in Morocco are based on
first-hand experience, and are well-conceived. For example, they
view training for judges as vital to putting the family code into
practice, and would like to open a shelter for battered women in
Casablanca, where such facilities are lacking. UAF's support for
women's rights and the new Family Code dovetails with recent Mission
reform efforts in these areas, and their on-the-ground perspective
underscores the importance of continuing to provide such
organizations with resources to pursue their initiatives. END
COMMENT.

GREENE