Moroccan women lobby for legal abortion: Religion, gendered power and womens health rights
Reported, December 10, 2011
bortion continues to foster passionate debate about womens reproductive rights. Although societal attitudes towards abortion vary across culture and time, abortion remains an insoluble dilemma that evokes bitter and emotional controversy in most African countries.(3) The procedure is illegal in large parts of the continent, yet its legal status has little effect on its incidence. The abortion rate was 29 (per 1,000 women) in Africa in and 28 in Europe (where abortion is usually legal) in 2007.(4) In other words, women choose to make decisions about their reproductive abilities and their futures, regardless of laws.
The reason why womens rights and other organisations lobby for the legalisation of abortion is, when simplified, two-fold. First, many believe that women have the basic right to legal access to all health services concerned with their reproductive abilities. This basic right obviously extends to the right to choose to use such services, including pregnancy termination. Second, the fact that so many African women do not enjoy these basic rights translates into sky-high maternal mortality rates caused by illegal, unsafe pregnancy terminations. The legalisation of abortion is therefore not only concerned with womens rights, but also with womens health, two intimately connected matters.
Whilst religious beliefs play a pivotal role in shaping attitudes towards abortion in Morocco and elsewhere, these beliefs are often driven by imbalances in gendered power. Religious actors are prominent in the abortion dilemma that Morocco currently faces, but the fact that the religion in question has been casting men in almost all decision-making roles for generations is more important. This CAI brief discusses the context that surrounds the reproductive health rights of Moroccan women, with specific reference to abortion, and argues that continuous disregard for womens health rights is rooted not in religion, but in the way that religion is used as a tool to maintain the status quo and control over women and their bodies.
A brief historical overview
Morocco’s Constitution, adopted in 1962, provides for multiparty democratic institutions, fundamental freedoms, and the principle of separation of powers.(5) Successive revisions to the Constitution created a Constitutional Council in 1992 and a bicameral legislature in 1996.(6) The king still maintains supreme executive power under the 1996 Constitution and it is his/her duty to appoint the Prime Minister and the cabinet.(7) King Hassans son, Mohammed, assumed the throne in July 1999, after his fathers death. There has been a lot of progress in the countrys political realm since King Mohammeds reign started.
Kind Mohammed has launched an extensive program of economic and political liberalisation. Elections have become more transparent, and several mechanisms have been put in place to strengthen the constitutional state whilst reducing corruption.(8) The king also released thousands of prisoners and allowed exiled opposition figures to return to Morocco.(9) Despite this political progress, many Moroccan laws and policies still discriminate against women. Women’s civil and reproductive health rights continue to be neglected, relative to those of their male counterparts. These unequal rights often result in several reproductive health problems, such as unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and high maternal mortality rates.
International Conference on Population and Development
The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) called for recognition of women and girls reproductive health and reproductive rights across all states. The ICPD defined reproductive health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.(10) This definition implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capacity to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.(11) Its given implications are intertwined with the reproductive rights of both men and women, defined by the ICPD as the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so.
Men and women should furthermore have the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.(12) Access to safe, effective and affordable health-care services are fundamental health rights for both men and women is important. Women especially need the fulfilment of this right because they most often play the role of responsible actor when it comes to human reproduction. Based on a reproductive health approach, factual information and accessibility to reproductive healthcare services should not only be available to everyone, but should also be guaranteed. This is especially true because reproductive rights envelop other basic, internationally recognised human rights such as bodily integrity, personhood, equality and diversity.(13)
Regrettably, abortion is still illegal in Morocco. Despite a high maternal mortality rate of 200 deaths per 100, 000 live births (compare this to Egypts rate of 84 deaths per 100, 000 in 2000), women are not allowed to make decisions about hosting life in their bodies, or about having to care for that life for the next 20-odd years.(14) Close to 99% of Moroccans are Muslims and the Islam religion plays a key role in the countrys governance. According to the Islamic faith, abortion is usually permissible during early stages of pregnancy and if the mothers life is at risk.(15) Despite the fact that the Government of Morocco has supported family planning since its independence in 1957, abortion has encountered strong religious and political opposition.(16)
Gendered power and religion
Moroccos abortion law was first liberalised in 1967. At the time, Article 453 of the Penal Code was amended by Royal Decree No. 181-66 (1 July 1967) to provide that the performance of an abortion shall not be punished when it is a necessary measure to safeguard the health of the mother and is openly performed by a physician or a surgeon with the consent of the spouse.(17) The procedure must be openly performed within six weeks of pregnancy by a physician with the consent of the spouse. If the husband refuses or cannot give his consent, the physician is required to obtain the authorisation of the chief medical officer of the province or prefecture, by presenting written notification to the effect that the intervention is the only means of safeguarding the health of the woman.(18) If the womans life is in jeopardy, the only requirement is notification of the chief medical officer of the province or prefecture by the physician.(19) According to Moroccos Family Planning Association statistics released in 2009, the majority of abortions are requested by married women and are carried out among the poorest of people.(20)
Due to these restrictive laws and the countrys high maternal mortality rate, Moroccan women held the Abortion Conference on May 30, 2010. According to statistics, 600-800 abortions are performed daily in Morocco, with proper medical care, while another 200 occur in backstreets and unsanitary conditions.(21) Abortion-related deaths are highest in Africa, where the procedure is illegal and hence usually unsafe.(22) The primary goal of the conference was therefore to come to an agreement on the use of clandestine abortions in the country. The conference has not made progress with regards to a solution on this controversial matter, however. Those who oppose change consistently use references to the Islam religion to justify the subjugation of womens rights to mens decisions. Moroccan women initiated the Conference in order to find common ground between opposing views. Women continue to exercise their agency and negotiate the hurdles in their lives despite laws. They should be free to do so legally and when they choose to, however.
It is easy to point the finger at the Muslim religion and blame it for setting views and attitudes about womens healthcare that violate their rights. Keep in mind, however, that gendered power dynamics are the driving force behind such decisions. During the abortion conference in Morocco in May 2010, a party official of the Islamist Justice and Development Party condescendingly commented that to legalise abortion would be to legalise women to do what they want and give them the chance to dishonour their families.(23) Fatima Chakrullah, a 34-year-old medical doctor who spent 10 years working in French hospitals, expressed frustration during the conference. The Quran does not explicitly refer to abortion, but offers guidance on related matters. Scholars and others therefore use their own discretion to apply the Qur-ans guidance to the matter of abortion.(24) Chakrullah commented that it is ironic that the Islamists seem to pick and choose what is Islamic and what is not if it suits their conservative agenda.(25) The interpretations of those in powerful positions are therefore at the heart of discrimination against female citizens. While they try to maintain the status quo, thousands of women die at the hands of backstreet quacks.
Religion permeates cultural practices and change can consequently be an extremely challenging goal to achieve. Demeaning viewpoints like those of the party official during the Conference should be challenged directly and consistently. Lets commend the women who work hard to improve womens lives and support their rights to make decisions about their bodies and healthcare.
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