Women's Rights Under Moroccan Law: What Expats Should Know

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This is an overview, not legal advice. For anything that affects your own marriage, children, property or job, consult a Moroccan lawyer.

What this means for you. Which parts of Moroccan law touch your life depends mainly on your nationality, and on whether you marry, or have children with, a Moroccan:

• Property in Morocco, banking, and work for a Moroccan employer are governed by Moroccan law whatever your nationality, and on these the law gives women the same legal capacity as men.
• Marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance are governed by the Family Code (Moudawana) for Moroccans and for marriages where a spouse is Moroccan. If you are a foreign woman married to a foreign man, a different law may apply, and a lawyer can tell you which.
• The Family Code is being reformed, but the existing code is still the law. A revision has been in preparation since 2023. Proposals are not law until an amending law has completed the legislative process and come into force. Do not make decisions on the basis of reported changes; check the current text with a lawyer.

Law and daily practice do not always match, in Morocco as anywhere. Where that gap matters, this guide says so.

The legal framework

The Family Code (Moudawana), reformed in 2004, governs marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance. The 2011 Constitution, in article 19, guarantees men and women equal civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. The Labour Code governs employment, and Law 103-13, in force since 2018, addresses violence against women, including sexual harassment.

Marriage and divorce under the current Family Code

The 2004 reform changed family law substantially. Under the code as it currently stands:

• Marriage age. The legal age is 18 for both women and men, but the code allows a judge to authorise the marriage of a minor. That exception is one of the issues in the reform debate.
• Consent and guardianship. Marriage requires the consent of both spouses, and an adult woman does not need a male guardian (wali) to marry.
• Polygamy requires a judge’s authorisation, granted only under strict conditions, and a woman can make monogamy a condition of her marriage contract.
• Marriage contract conditions. A woman can write other conditions into the contract too, which is why taking legal advice before signing is worth it.
• Divorce. The code brought repudiation by the husband under court supervision and widened women’s access to divorce, notably through divorce for discord (shiqaq), which either spouse can ask a court for.
• Custody is decided with the child’s interest as the guiding principle.

Property, money and inheritance

Women in Morocco have full legal capacity to own, buy, sell and inherit property, open bank accounts, sign contracts and run businesses. Women do all of these routinely, in cities especially.

Inheritance is the area where the law differs most from what many foreigners expect. The rules follow Islamic principles, under which a daughter generally inherits half the share of a son, and nationality and religion can affect how an estate in Morocco is handled. This is also one of the most debated parts of the reform. If you own property in Morocco, plan with both a Moroccan notary and a lawyer in your home country.

At work

The Labour Code prohibits discrimination based on sex in hiring, pay and promotion, and provides 14 weeks of maternity leave with protection of your job. Sexual harassment at work is a criminal offence under Law 103-13. In practice, pursuing a complaint can be slow and hard to prove, so if it happens to you, record dates, messages and witnesses as they happen and talk to a lawyer early. The guide to women working in Morocco covers the workplace side in more detail.

Current law and the pending reform

Current law. The existing Family Code is the legal framework to treat as current, and the Ministry of Justice’s own legal portal still presents it as the applicable text. It stays that way unless and until an amending law completes the legislative process and comes into force.

The reform. In 2023 the King asked for the Family Code to be reviewed. In December 2025 the Ministry of Justice said a draft amendment had been prepared but was still being discussed and refined within government, with no final version settled, and in March 2026 it described the reform as one of the major legislative projects under way. We could not confirm any later change, and a proposal is not the same as the law: do not treat any proposed provision as a right or obligation already in force.

If a decision in your life depends on the reform, such as a marriage, a divorce, or planning an estate, check the current position with a Moroccan lawyer rather than relying on news reports of what the new code will say.

If you are marrying a Moroccan

If you are considering marriage to a Moroccan national, the Family Code will apply to your marriage in Morocco, and it may interact with the law of your own country in ways that are hard to predict, particularly on divorce, custody and inheritance. Take advice from a Moroccan lawyer and a lawyer in your home country before the marriage, not after a problem arises, and ask specifically what conditions you can write into the contract.