Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi has questioned why divorce is routinely treated as a failure, particularly for women, telling Parliament that the breakdown of a marriage should not automatically be viewed as a bad outcome.
“Is a woman who gets divorced considered deviant, while a man who divorces is treated as a hero?” he asked during an oral question session in the House of Representatives on Monday.
Ouahbi challenged the double standards surrounding divorce in Moroccan society, arguing that women should not be held solely responsible when marriages break down.
“Is divorce necessarily a negative situation, or can it also be a positive one?” he asked lawmakers, urging them to consider the circumstances behind a separation before passing judgment.
Some women, he said, spend years in court trying to end their marriages, facing disputes over maintenance, child custody and allegations of marital disobedience.
Read also : El Mansouri Gov’s proposed 5,000-dirham marriage grant: What we know so far
He referred to the Egyptian film I Want a Solution, starring Faten Hamama, which portrays a woman’s struggle to secure a divorce, to illustrate the difficulties women can face in seeking legal separation.
The minister said women had legitimate reasons to seek divorce and should not face social condemnation for doing so.
Ouahbi also challenged the way divorce figures are being presented, warning against treating the number of cases filed in court as the number of marriages actually dissolved.
The Higher Council of the Judiciary’s 2025 annual report recorded 154,377 divorce and separation cases brought before the courts.
But that figure includes proceedings in which couples may reconcile before a final ruling, he explained.
“Divorce applications must not be confused with divorces actually granted,” he said.
Read also : Article 490: The debate over sex outside marriage back in the spotlight
Ouahbi put the annual number of marriages in Morocco at around 268,000, while calling for more consistent statistics on marriage and divorce, including coordination with the High Commission for Planning.
He also defended a greater role for mediation in family disputes, saying couples should have opportunities to settle their differences without becoming trapped in lengthy court proceedings.
Among the options he raised were independent mediation offices, local councils of religious scholars and other religious institutions.
The remarks come as the government prepares a long-awaited revision of the Moudawana, Morocco’s Family Code, which has been in force since 2004.
Ouahbi said he hoped the draft of the revised code would be submitted to Parliament in December.
