The Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, firmly reaffirmed his opposition to the marriage of minors in Morocco, emphasizing that the place of underage girls is in school and not in the marital home.
Speaking on Tuesday during the weekly session of oral questions in the House of Councillors, the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi said that the issue of the marriage of minors will be resolved through the law rather than simple speeches. According to him, it is imperative to criminalize this practice.
He also pointed out that early marriage jeopardizes the educational future of young girls, and rejected the idea that marriage can provide adequate protection or material security for women.
Thus, the Minister of Justice said he was deeply convinced of the importance of criminalizing the marriage of minors. ” Anyone who marries a minor should be imprisoned, as it constitutes an act of rape, since the minor has no choice, she has no love or affection in such a situation“, he explained.
And to go on to raise a pertinent question: “ Those who defend and support the marriage of underage girls, would they be prepared to marry off their own daughters and deprive them of an education, while their comrades continue to study and become doctors, lawyers and engineers?“.
In addition, Ouahbi insisted on the tragic nature of the marriage of minors in Morocco, stressing that children do not have free will, which leads to several social problems in the country.
As a reminder, the minister, who was questioned on the subject last November in parliament, had pointed out that the number of cases of marriages of minors fell from 26,000 in 2017 to 12,000 in 2020. This drop was not maintained. since the number started to rise again in 2021 to reach 19,000 cases. He had estimated that to put an end to this scourge, it is necessary to cancel the law which stipulates that the judge can grant an authorization for the marriage of minors.