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RABAT (AFP) - Government plans to overhaul laws concerning women and their social and economic standing have majority support in Morocco, according to a survey published by L'Economiste daily Thursday. The findings came only days after a rally to protest the plans drew hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of Casablanca. A pro-reform rally took place at the same time in the capital, Rabat. In the poll, 40 percent described government plans to change the laws on marriage, divorce and alimony in favor of women as "feasible," while 28 percent said they were not. A further 14 percent called the plans "premature," with the remainder were undecided. The pollsters Telemark System carried out the survey on a sample of 571 people. "The counter-reformists are starting off with a 12-point handicap, but they can still gain a draw and block the government plan to integrate women into development," said L'Economiste. Official proposals include dozens of measures to boost women's social and economic standing, and feature major changes to the country's traditional Islamic statutes on marriage. Among the most important are proposals to raise the minimum age for marriage from 15 to 18, create a new system of divorce in place of the current norm of verbal dissolution by a man, and stipulate that the couple's assets must be shared after divorce. Current rules requiring women to be accompanied at the time of her marriage by a guardian – normally her father, brother or close relative – would also be downgraded into voluntary norms. But the survey found that more than 80 percent of women found the reforms on guardian rules "scandalous and against Islam." The paper called this result a surprise, arguing that "these are the women who are the most opposed to the unauthorized marriage of young women." Since the government announced its intention to reform women's rights in March last year, the plan has provoked passionate reactions from most political and religious groups. The next stage for the proposals comes when the
government commission, including Muslim scholars, reviews them before they are
passed for approval to King Mohammed VI.
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