Abstract
This project evaluates the mechanisms by which Moroccan grassroots organizations, women’s organizations, and Islamist organizations achieved unparalleled changes in family law and gendered reform between 2004 and 2008. Their collective voices demanded an end to stereotypical female roles and an increase in women’s rights, political participation, and socioeconomic opportunities. Morocco’s successes serve as an example for women’s activism across North Africa and may provide further impetus for women’s progress in neighboring states. This project focuses on women’s empowerment in the private sphere through family law reform as well as through improved access to the public sphere through increased educational and employment opportunities. Lastly, this project analyzes the intersection between Moroccan women’s movements, the UN-sponsored CEDAW and Beijing Platform, and the Moroccan state and religious authorities to assess how local organizations employed international conventions and economic incentives as a vehicle to further institutionalize gender parity.
The project utilizes a multi-prong methodological approach to triangulate on the multivariate input to women’s empowerment. First, the study will include in-depth case studies of 6-8 grassroots and WNGOs June-July 2013. The grass roots organizations include the FEDER program in Rabat and the ISIS program in Fez, while the WNGOs will include the Association Democratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM) in Rabat, the Amane Association for the Development of Women in Marrakech, the Democratic League for the Rights of Women in Ouarzazate, and the Initiative pour la Protection des Droits la Femme in Fez. During these case studies, ethnographic surveys will be conducted among clients of the ISIS and FEDER programs to evaluate the programs’ impact and effectiveness. Next, the study will involve interviews with government and party officials and WNGO heads conducted in March-April 2012 and June-July 2013. Finally, the study will explore the findings from focus groups and surveys conducted at universities in Fez, Rabat, Marrakech, and Ouarzazate in 2012 and 2013 to assess the effectiveness and institutionalization of family law and gendered reform. This project was started in Morocco in 2012-2013 and will expand to Tunisia and Egypt in 2014-2015 to assess the interplay between legislative reform in Morocco and similar movements neighboring states.
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