Free choice in marriage gains support.

While girls' marriages are still often arranged for her, attitudes are changing rapidly and now most Moroccans favour free choice by both partners. Other more traditional beliefs are still held, for example, marriage is highly valued and very much associated with procreation, so that marriage without children is almost unthinkable. The decision not to have children, that is becoming more common in other societies, has yet to take hold in Morocco and may be decades off.

A total of 1,000 people, representing all the Moroccan regions, were questioned recently for a survey that looked at Moroccans attitudes to marriage. The research was carried out by a group from the Hassan II University of Mohammedia. The criteria for choosing the population surveyed were based on the place of residence (urban/rural), gender, age, marital status, educational level and profession.

This national survey on Moroccan society's values concluded that more than 90% of Moroccans, men and women, favour marriage. Eighty five percent of them say it is preferable to marry before 25.

Early marriage is associated with women and the late one with men. Most of the population said that over 25 is the ideal age for men to marry.

By and large, the researchers reached a number of important conclusions concerning marriage, marital relations, and parental relations.

They found that both men and women felt that the most desirable quality in the spouse is the “Maâqoul” (seriousness) and obedience counts a lot in marital relations.

They also concluded that family solidarity enjoys a central position in Moroccans' lives. It is felt that old parents should be taken care of by their children and not by the state or charities.

The survey was designed to come up with a general idea about Moroccan society's values, concerning mainly family, tradition, religion, politics, work and leisure.

Earlier this year, Minister of Justice Mohamed Bouzoubaâ said that marriage rate increased by 3.48% between 2004 and 2005.

In January 2004, the kingdom introduced important amendments to the family code with view to enhancing women and children rights, and reinforcing family ties.


Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news