Less than an hour separates Marrakech and the High Atlas Mountains communes. An hour, and an entire world. From landscapes to customs and cultures, the differences are vast, and the reality is different. We often ask ourselves why governmental decisions and laws, which regularly influence development processes, struggle to reach remote areas: is this what keeps rural communities left behind? From August to December 2017, I worked with a team from the High Atlas Foundation to conduct a participatory assessment of needs and awareness of personal rights in the High Atlas region, which included group discussion workshops with rural women. The research showed that before the workshop over 90 percent of them had never heard about the Moroccan law that establishes women's rights. Based on the results of the assessment research, this paper will provide a glance at the reality of rural women in Morocco, presenting their struggles, needs, and their will to learn more and change their current reality. 

There is an inevitable link between human rights and development. In December 1986, the United Nations added the Declaration on the Right to Development to its 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration expressed the growing international understanding of the need for rights-based development, and marked a new era in social development. Duncan Green expresses the personal aspect of the Rights-Based Approach (RBA), claiming: "Feeling that one has the right to something is much more powerful than simply needing or wanting it. It implies that someone else has the duty to respond." According to Green, the legal framework allows “rights-holders,” to make demands on those in power, the “duty-bearers,” which in many cases are governments. Duty-bearers carry the responsibility to protect and fulfill the rights of all people, particularly of those who come from remote areas.

In 2004, the Moroccan Kingdom joined the global process of promoting rights-based development. Under the new king, Mohammad VI, and in light of international processes promoting equality, changing women's status in Morocco was finally an option. In 2004, following decades of civic struggles, the Moroccan Kingdom enacted the new Family Moudawana Law (مدونة الأسرة), replacing the 1958 Moudawana, which, in fact, did not provide equal rights for women. The new law constitutes a major landmark in the Moroccan women's struggle, as it follows the principle of equality between men and women in families, communities, and in Moroccan society.

Though Family Moudawana secured women's equal rights in different aspects, the life of women in rural Morocco, in most cases, remained as it was. In the search for the reasons for that, several different obstacles were indicated. Lack of awareness was the first obstacle to be found. Over 90 percent of the women who took part in the participatory assessment workshops (almost 200 women) shared the fact that they had barely heard about Moudawana before. High illiteracy rates among rural women remains one of the core problems, depriving young girls and women of access to knowledge, and ways to exercise their rights. In one of our workshops, we heard the following story: "My friend opposed the idea of polygamy, but her husband insisted on taking a second wife. In order to take a second wife, he had to get her to sign an official paper. My friend, who is illiterate, was convinced that she was signing documents for pilgrimage to Mecca. Only after he married the other woman, she found out what she had signed on…" According to Moudawana, this woman had the right to oppose polygamy; however, she lacked the relevant knowledge and ability to claim her right. Indeed, we see that less-educated women face more barriers in gaining their rights. 

Though a national law exists, local traditions remain highly respected in rural areas, and are considered in most cases as the "formal law," which replaces the national one. As one man explained: "We have a local representative of the government for each area; he is in charge of enforcing national laws. However, before that, each village has its own law -enforcement mechanism. The family is the first authority to judge, based on family customs and local traditions, which are highly respected. If a family cannot solve a personal debate, they go to their community's formal authority. This person will always be a man who was born in the village, in order to know the local customs, traditions, culture, and history, and to be able to judge according to them. If there is a clash between the national law and the local one, in most cases he will decide in favor of local traditions." To gain her rights, a rural woman has to go through three different male authorities, starting with her own family, before getting the chance to appear in front of a judge. Another example for that was given in a story about a man who raped a woman; their families forced her to marry him, to cover the shame on both sides (as part of their culture, she needed also to be shamed by the act). We were told she committed suicide shortly after.

Though Moudawana is based on the Islamic sharia law, rural communities in many cases tend to separate religious orders from local customs. For instance, though divorce is allowed in Islam, most rural communities ban it. Women are threatened with exile from their communities, and as a result, they are forced to “choose” to stay in harmful marriages. It is no surprise, then, that the 2010 Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa Survey found that 30 percent of men surveyed somewhat or strongly oppose Moudawana, and 52 percent of men surveyed believe that Moudawana gave women too many rights.        

Lack of independence was another core issue raised as an obstacle by the women. We often heard the following sentence: "I never left the village by myself; I wish I could visit the market one day." In rural Morocco, it is considered inappropriate for women to leave the village on their own, imposing not only a social obstacle but also a physical one. Gaining the rights that Moudawana is supposed to ensure requires appearing in front of a judge; however in many cases women cannot exit the village on their own. Money is another barrier preventing access to knowledge and tools, as most women are financially dependent on their husbands or families.  

Rural communities in Morocco have struggled for years to keep their unique traditions and customs, including maintaining the traditional women's role. In many cases, women in rural Morocco are not aware of any other reality. Many participants were not able share their personal vision, as they never thought they deserved to have one. For most in these rural communities, national laws still seem detached from their world. 

Understanding the difficulties these women face, and the clash between local traditions and the innovative national law, Moudawana, was the first step we took while involving the community in the process of using rights to promote development. In order to make the most of the RBA in remote areas, development practitioners must use participatory methods. Once the community is involved in the process of implementing national laws, its people will gradually become less alienated from them, and there will be a greater chance for sustained change. The assessment workshops not only helped indicate needs and map women’s existing knowledge about their rights, but also contributed to raising a lively discussion about women's rights within these communities, which made rural women active participants in using the RBA to achieve equality and actualize their rights.

Gal Kramarski