Moroccan women penalized in case of divorce?

Women’s associations are up in arms against the reform of Abdelatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, requiring women with a higher income than their spouse to pay alimony to their ex-husbands after divorce.

Abdelatif Ouahbi’s desire to promote “true parity” between men and women is encountering resistance. In an interview on the Moroccan channel 2M Last week, the minister suggested that women with a higher income in the couple should pay alimony (Nafaqa) to their husbands in the event of a divorce. In reality, it is the man who is most affected after a divorce as his standard of living drops. Asked about the measures he intends to take, in collaboration with Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), against men who do not pay alimony to their wives after the divorce, he replied in these terms: “When the woman files for divorce, she must have all her rights. To do this, we must know what the man owns and what the woman also owns because the financial responsibility is shared,” Ouahbi said. He added: “When we have a clear idea of ​​the financial situation of the man and the woman, we will be able to determine who is the injured party and who will compensate the other. If the woman’s income is higher than that of the man, she will have to pay Nafaka to her ex-spouse.”