Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi: Efforts deployed to stop underage marriage phenomenon have achieved very positive results

Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi has stated that since Morocco’s endorsement of the new family status code in 2004, tangible progress has been achieved in the women rights field, and that has impacted positively on improving equality between men and women, children’s rights and the supremacy of international charters that were adopted.

Minister Ouahbi added last Tuesday, December 3, 2023 in his response to an oral question about underage marriage submitted by RNI party at the House of Councilors, that the family status code in article 20 has given particular attention to underage marriage, through many important measures and guaranties.

Minister Ouahbi has made clear that the Ministry of Justice has paid special interest to this kind of marriage, as it has taken several measures and arrangements to include several reforms to activate provisions regarding underage children, boys and girls alike, under appropriate age of marriage.

Minister Ouahbi has pointed out that the Ministry of Justice has made all efforts to stop this phenomenon through sending pamphlets to judges in charge of family law and marriage, organizing working days and workshops to gather data and statistics about this kind of marriage regularly and periodically and to be published to the public.

All those efforts, has informed the Minister, to stop this underage phenomenon either by the Ministry of Justice or the rest of government sectors and civil society NGOs have achieved very positive results over the last few years.

Minister Ouahbi has reminded of the implementation of the royal speech about some amendments to be included in the family status code provisions especially those about underage marriage that should be the topic of participative discussion among different concerned government sectors and civil society and which will be endorsed by the Ministry to assess both positive and negative aspects of the family status code provisions.