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Morocco has approved one of the most progressive laws on women's and family rights in the Arab world, which will see polygamy almost completely eradicated from the north African country.

The changes to the "mudawana" family code make polygamy acceptable only in rare circumstances, and only with the permission of a judge and a man's first wife. They also raise the age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 and give wives "joint responsibility" with their husbands in family matters.

Islamists have now accused the king of bowing to pressure from Europe and the US.

"These reforms have been elaborated in response to the desires of foreigners and the feminist movement, but not to produce any real change in women's lives," said Nadia Yassin, spokeswoman for Morocco's popular, but illegal, Justice and Charity Islamist movement.

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[ 27 January 2004: Message edited by: Willowdale Wizard ]

[ 22 January 2004: Message edited by: beluga2 ]

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Daud Sharifa, a 39-year-old single woman runs a 3,000-strong network to help Muslim women.

The audience listens to her impassioned plea for women to build their own place of worship and be involved in community rulings on marriage, divorce, domestic abuse and child custody.

"Would having a place of worship of your own help? Would a jamat [community elders at mosques who adjudicate on family matters] of women be more sympathetic to your cause?" asks Sharifa.

The women nod in unison.

Sharifa, an unlikely feminist in India's traditionally male-dominated southern heartland, has caused a storm by leading the movement for the women's mosque.

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From here I'd hesitate to support advocacy of a law on this matter, but I agree with her secularist viewpoint.

Edited to change the link - but it worked fine for me. Perhaps the site was down, but as Libération is a major French daily, that is most unusual.

[ 30 January 2004: Message edited by: lagatta ]

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Fadéla Amara s'est aussi prononcé contre le projet annoncé mercredi par France Télévisions d'accorder plus de place aux personnes issues de minorités, à l'antenne comme en interne. «Qu'on mette en place une réelle égalité et tout le reste suivra (...) Je suis contre les quotas et la discrimination positive pour deux raisons: parce que je trouve humiliant d'être réduit à son origine et parce que, dans les quartiers, le petit Benoît vit la même situation que le petit Mohammed et la petite Fatima la même chose que la petite Brigitte. Si on pratique (la discrimination positive) dans les quartiers, on va créer une élite et la majorité va continuer de crever en bas. En plus, il y a un risque que l'extrême droite en profite.»

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P.S. I'm not totally confident if I'm reading her correctly. I'm always afraid of hurting the French language. I think I can read French but no way to tell if I actually can

[ 30 January 2004: Message edited by: Mandos ]