Casablanca - The Moroccan Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights has recently revealed the results of a study that highlights the negative impact of Article 16 of the Family Code related to marriage authentication.
According to daily newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, the study covered three family courts in Meknes, Fez and Khenifra by examining samples of favorable verdicts issued between 2010 and 2012.
The results of the study revealed shocking figures regarding underage marriage in Morocco: 25.5% of favorable verdicts regarding authentication requests involved underage girls whose age did not exceed 10 to 15 years.
The study also showed that 61% of favorable verdicts, in the case of Moroccan couples without children, also involved minors.
The Moroccan newspaper Annass imputes these figures to Article 16 of the Family Code, which gives a green light to a large number of underage marriages.
In Morocco, only the family judge may authorize the marriage of a minor due to "exceptional circumstances," based on Article 16 of the Family Code.
According to the same source, all requests for underage marriage have been accepted, despite the amendments brought to the Mudawana (family code) 14 years ago.
As a result, the Moroccan civil society has been demanding the abolition of Article 16 of the Family Code to put an end to the phenomenon of child marriage, which has proved to be conductive to many serious crimes against minors.
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