Rabat, Asharq Al-Awsat- Morocco’s Justice Minister has revealed that the practice of polygamy is on the decline.
Justice Minister Muhammad Bouzouba’ spoke on Monday at the opening session of a conference titled: “Two Years to the Implementation of Family Law.” During the conference, which was organized by the Moroccan Justice Ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), it was announced that the number of polygamous marriages has declined from 904 in 2004 to 841 in 2005.
The Family Law comes with an added value, said chairman of the Moroccan Conciliatory Council for Human Rights, Al-Mahjoub Al-Heiba. “For the first time a true equality between the two sexes is obtained.”
According to the Shariaa’ Law, a man is allowed to marry up to four women.
The Moroccan family law introduced in 2004, did not outlaw polygamy, but made it more difficult by insisting that men needed their first wife’s consent before marrying another.