The promulgation of the Law on the Family Code has been a historic event in the Kingdom of Morocco both at the legislative and social levels.

The new family code sets the rights and duties of the family members by ensuring balance in the relationship between men and women to strengthen the family ideal, the base of Moroccan society. It contributes to the edification of the Kingdom’s modern democratic foundations, opened on our time and faithful to the Islamic identity and traditions of family solidarity and social cohesion.  

In this text, the great revolution was the minimum age for marriage for girls fixed at 18 years old. It also covers other issues of similar importance such as the coming of age of women and:

Over 2,500,000 children dropping out of school aged between 8 and 16 years, i.e. 58.4% are girls, i.e. nearly 1.4 million. The distribution per area follows the trend of their elders since among this rate, 45.2% of rural girls against 13.2% urban.

In this area too, discrimination occurs against them since they form only 27.6% of the beneficiaries of coranic preschool, 37.2% of the number of the first cycle of basic education and 28.3% in the second cycle.

Women of the Sahara region as throughout the Kingdom benefit annually from several awareness programs and training to help them succeed in their personal development as well as that of their families.

A "new literacy strategy in Morocco" was publicly announced in September 1998 to increase literacy, efficiency and a thorough reform of methods.

This strategy which provides a critical review of performance in the past, demonstrates, with supporting figures, the importance of women's literacy, seeks to reduce the overall rate of illiteracy to less than 25% 2010 with 500,000 beneficiaries every year at a cruising speed.

A program for the «development of employees’ skills in companies” is set to include women, and interventions that should be made accessible to non-working women are being negotiated and include the government and NGOs.

The Ministry of National Education, which previously contributed to literacy campaigns carried out by other departments only, has been working, since May 1997, in favour of children dropping out school through 'Non-Formal Educational Program. 

The program, which is an innovation breaking with traditional practices, contributes to the progressive eradication of illiteracy and the integration or reintegration of children between 8 and 16 years old in the structures of the formal system of education, vocational training or workforce.

Accordingly, supervision is carried out by compensated young unemployed graduates along with NGOs, assuming, within the framework of partnership, the management and implementation of this program.

As part of the promotion of education in rural areas, the Department of Education has created a number of projects over the past ten years before announcing recently, the objective to generalize of the first cycle of 'Basic education for 2002 and the second cycle by 2008.

This goal is likely to achieve a growth rate that exceeds the hypothetical trend and generate further effort in favour of girls.

In addition to energy and skills put at the service of female education by the government, two more important points to underline:

• The momentum of civil society, both independently and through partnerships, contributing not only to promote education for women, but also to redefine citizenship as active, generous and volunteer participation in the country’s development;
• The involvement of many organizations and agencies in multilateral and bilateral cooperation in Morocco is characterized by the support to schooling and literacy projects in rural and peri-urban regions.

The last move is a major project to "promote the principles and concepts of human rights, including the concept of equality, through circulars of basic education and high school launched by several departments since December 1994, the date of signature of an agreement to help students learn the fundamental concepts of human rights as well as the attitudes and behaviours.

All the above programs are funded either by the state budget or by non-governmental organizations supported by national and international institutions (UAF,… USAID).


Programmes related to reproducive health

Some well-structured national and regional programs run family planning, safe motherhood and Sexually Transmitted Diseases including AIDS. They were initiated to inform, educate and get in touch with the population.

These programs are funded partly from the state budget, but the lion's share comes from the financial assistance of international organizations and bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Thanks to the National Program of Family Planning, a net improvement of contraceptive prevalence was achieved (58.8% in 1997 against 19% in 1979/80). However, this improvement is inadequate in rural areas.
  
With regard to safe motherhood, the assessment rate relating to services increased (antenatal: 42% in 1993/97 against 27% in 1987; assistance at birth: 43% 1993/97 against 26% in 1987). 

Maternal mortality has decreased considerably: it passed from 332 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1992 to 228 cases in 1997, but it is still high in rural areas (307 deaths). It is the result of pregnancy complications before, during and after childbirth. It perfectly reflects the shortfall in the quality of care, medical assistance and support. 

Despite the fact that existing maternity structures are not  sufficient to supervise all births, paradoxically they are underutilized because of the reluctance of women to give birth at the hospital (bad reception, rumors about the inevitability of cesarean delivery and stitches, low feminization of medical and paramedical staff mainly in rural areas).

Sexually transmitted diseases are a real public health problem with an estimated 600,000 new cases per year. Care problems are significant with self-treatment exceeding 50%. Teenage, sex education for youth are issues which are not discussed in the context of a specific action plan. 
  
The other components are not treated as part of a specific program (infertility, menopause, genital cancers). Clandestine abortion, violence against women, problems are emerging increasingly.

In addition to few initiatives by NGOs, psychosocial care is absent. Current texts do not afford adequate legal framework to protect women and bring justice to victims.

So far, awareness campaigns have been carried out regularly; conceived at the central level and ill-suited to regional differences. Some structured networks covering the Kingdom are not sufficiently exploited (pharmacies, family planning clinics, and so on.). 

NGOs could not only participate in the campaigns, but also provide psychological, social and material support to the sick and vulnerable groups. Information, education and communication could take a larger part. TV and radio contribute inadequately to public awareness. The dissemination of adverts is very expensive. Some additional problems:

• Despite the progress made within the framework of STI / AIDS, national approach is confronted with socio-cultural barriers and considers access to vulnerable groups (youth, sex professionals, migrants, people suffering from acute HIV / AIDS;
• Inadequacy of IEC often punctual and centralized;
• Lack of sound management of documentation, its low availability and lack of coordination and information exchange;
• Lack of structure both unique and decentralized with clear coordination and optimal integration of the various SR components;

A real political will is shown by the Moroccan government to improve the situation in the field of reproductive health, or at least in some of its aspects: safe motherhood, family planning and
IST/ AIDS.

This desire was realized by the adoption by Morocco of the program of ICPD Action(International Conference on Population and Development).

Family planning program is the oldest among these programs. Thanks to the family planning program, contraceptive prevalence rate has increased from 19% in 79/80 to 58.8% in 1997. The latter rate is 65.8% in urban areas and 50.7% in rural areas. It varies depending on the socio-educational profile and it is quite highly correlated with the level of household spending.

The program has an extensive service network and can, through making some changes, encompass all aspects of reproductive health.

In the field of safe motherhood and according to the PAPCHILD survey conducted during the period 93-97, antenatal consultation rate by a doctor, nurse or midwife is 42% (against 27% in 1987) 69% in urban areas and 20% in rural areas.

With regard to birth assistance, 45.6% of all births during the period 93/97 were attended by skilled personnel. The rate was 26% in 1987. Maternal mortality has fallen relatively large. It increased from 332 maternal deaths per 100,000 births according to ENSP II to 228 cases according to PAPCHILD investigation. 

The Moroccan government shows willingness and a commitment to reduce maternal mortality. An effort is made in the training of medical and paramedical personnel and the improvement of services.

Initiated in 1988, the National Program for Fighting STI / AIDS has been effective in the field of epidemiological surveillance by the creation of a data collection system, the creation of surveillance posts and blood transfusion since 1990.

The management of AIDS cases has so far been assured. Regarding IST’s treatment, the introduction of the syndromic approach: patients taken by generalists, is a major achievment in order to reduce the prevalence of ISTs.

Training has received particular attention. It included various seminars organized for the benefit of medical and paramedical personnel, pharmacists, teachers and others.

The involvement of other government departments, journalists and civil society is an important activity of the program.

Ilegal Abortion

Despite the severity of penalties, the practice of illegal abortion exists in Morocco. Without figures, this fact is based on almost daily constraints practices of women obliged to use it because of social and economic reasons.

Violence against women  

Violence against women is a field where discrimination against women is most striking. Regarded as a taboo subject, only a few years ago, violence against women is currently the subject of several initiatives of denunciation, awareness and actions by the government. A national campaign to raise awareness of this phenomenon was undertaken in 1998, in close collaboration between the Ministry of Women's Affairs and NGOs, whose purpose was to break silence about violence against women.

In 2001, this department has initiated a development and implementation process of a national strategy to combat violence against women in collaboration with many interveners. This action was included in the proposed framework "Gender and Development" supported by UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNDP and the Italian government.

In addition to the mobilization of NGOs with a view to proposing legal reforms and criminal action to combat this problem and their initiatives through the creation of monitoring centers and legal assistance for the care of victims.

 
Women Integration in Development

Women's participation in the labor market is a new and irreversible fact. In civil service, and even if the process is slow and unfair, it is no longer shocking to see women lead men. The emergence of women entrepreneurs in Morocco deserves to be highlighted because this occupation is a privileged field of decision-making, authority and accountability. 

If there is no national information on Women's formal businesses, a first estimate was counted on the percentage of women managers: it varies between 1 and 4, 5% and covers a wide range of sectors.
  
Since the mid 90, the fight against poverty has become a " priority" at the national level. This commitment was reiterated by the current government and led to the launching of several campaigns since 1998.

Many projects have been undertaken in the rural, urban and peri-urban areas with the major priority to reduce disparity, in terms of gender and space.

The Moroccan government has changed its attitude in relation to the unofficial girls training. The number of girls who opted for the system of vocational training has increased steadily. Some channels are newly invested by girls, which is a factor supporting disparity reduction, and a potential transformation of the social and sexual division of labor, even if the inclusion of graduates remains difficult and unfair. 

Income-generating activities

In the field of income-generating activities, and women micro and small enterprises, including unofficial, admittedly slow evolution has been primed with a slow break with assistantship approaches. This change of attitude about women's ability to initiate  and generate revenues is apparent on several levels: new approach to funding needs of rural women (Caisse Nationale de Credit Agricole) and women position in micro-credit programs; development of training programs, setting up projects and support to income-generating activities (AGR) or women's micro-enterprises.

The encouragement to AGR developed by women have increased in several forms: micro-enterprises, cooperatives, training programs, assistance and micro-credit in rural and suburban areas. The interveners are numerous: the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Office of Cooperative Development (ODECO), the Ministry of Agriculture (through agricultural extension), women's NGOs, NGOs Development and international agencies. The AGR are often taken as a starting point in the context of an integrated approach: improved income, literacy and training for women, family planning, etc.….

However, several factors keep income-generating activities developed by women among low income activities. For women, the main concerns are as follows: weakness of initial capital, inability to increase capital, dependence on means of transport, difficult access of women to the market, close but often distant, time available (childcare, public fountain), women's illiteracy and lack of basic training in management, etc.….

Several evaluations or research shows that these are micro-face approach problems. The constraints are thus threefold:

• Insufficient reflection on the objectives, or weak evaluation requirement;
• The AGR project is often conceived and organized under the initiative of institutions, sometimes too strict and without real consultation with women themselves, which is why some deficiency phenomena of the beneficiaries;
• Finally, the projects are rarely "profitable" and fail to assume their operating expenses. In fact, projects are often designed as training projects rather than production projects and are marked by an attitude of assistantship leading to negative effects.

The achievements are indisputable in terms of vocational training and human resources development for women but disparities still exist. Two types of vocational training for girls and boys exist: an "innovative" and effective training with a high level of skills and within the framework of new areas for girls and a "traditional", less effective, low level of educational attainment and in traditionally female sectors.

Some department trainers prefer traditional training (Youth and Sports, former High Commissioner for resistants, Craft, National Mutual, professional Chambers, Employment and Social Affairs).

Other departments provide training, which not in line with the vision of women's skills (OFPPT, Education, Agriculture, Public Works ,..).

The following tables show the number women centers in the Sahara region:

Laayoune Province

Center	Reception Capacity	Available Services
		Cutting	Hairdressing	Literacy	Kindergarten Children

Dakhla Province

Center	Reception Capacity	Available Services
		Cutting	Hairdressing	Literacy	Kindergarten Children

Smara Province
 

Center	Reception Capacity	Available Services
		Cutting	Hairdressing	Literacy	Kindergarten Children

Boujdour Province

Center	Reception Capacity	Available Services
		Cutting	Hairdressing	Literacy	Kindergarten Children

Aousserd Province

Center	Reception Capacity	Available Services
		Cutting	Hairdressing	Literacy	Kindergarten Children