This report was originally published on November 29, 2019.

In Morocco, despite profound social change, inheritance law, governed by the Moudawana, which was reformed in 2004, remains rooted in the Maliki (Madhhab) school of Islamic jurisprudence. The opening verses of Surah An-Nisa continue to serve as the legal foundation for inheritance in Morocco.

In the most common scenario, when a father dies leaving behind both sons and daughters, Surah An-Nisa’ stipulates that each son inherits twice the share of each daughter. If the deceased leaves only daughters, his brothers may also claim a share of the inheritance.

This inequality has long been challenged particularly by feminist activists, but without success. Efforts to establish equal inheritance rights have repeatedly met resistance from religious and conservative circles, which insist on preserving the traditional interpretation of the Quran. Theologian Asma Lamrabet bore the brunt of this.

In March 2018, she resigned as director of the Center for Women’s Studies in Islam (Centre d’Études et de Recherche Féminine en Islam) at Rabita Mohammedia des Oulémas (Mohammadia League of Scholars). after facing pressure over her public support for equal inheritance rights.

For her part, National Human Rights Council President Amina Bouayach reaffirmed last March her institution’s support for equality in inheritance, in line with the recommendations of a 2015 report. It remains one of the few official endorsements of reforming Morocco’s inheritance laws.

The root of  family tragedies

“I’ve seen a son who practically wanted to exclude his sisters so he could inherit everything. He only protected his mother”

The inheritance law specialists we interviewed largely agree that this institutionalized inequality often lies at the root of family disputes and women’s economic vulnerability. « I’ve seen a son who practically wanted to exclude his sisters so he could inherit everything. He only protected his mother » recalls a legal consultant specializing in estate planning. In these moments of truth, « greed, selfishness, and old resentments » often rise to the surface, he says.

Leïla knows this reality all too well. She grew up hearing about her grandmother’s inheritance battle, which dates back to the 1960s. « When my grandfather died, my grandmother went to claim the land that had belonged to her husband. That’s when his brothers and sisters told her that he had already sold everything to them before his death and that there was nothing left to inherit. No one could prove the sale, in the 1960s, it was the « siba » » she recalls.

Leïla’s grandmother, along with her mother ;who was only six years old at the time; and her aunt, were cast aside by the rest of the family. Determined that her own daughters would never have to endure such misfortune because they were women, Leïla’s mother took precautions.

« My father had only daughters; my sister and me. My mother feared that my paternal uncles would claim our inheritance after his death. So she suggested that he transfer everything into her name (he family home and the farmland) to prevent that from happening. My father agreed. Later, my mother gifted the family home to my sister and me. In a few weeks, she’ll also transfer the farmland to us » Leïla explains.

Protecting Her Daughters

Now living in the United States with her husband, Leïla is following her mother’s example by trying to safeguard her infant daughter’s future. “We’re looking for a way to pass on all our assets to her, but she’s still a baby. To ease my fears, my husband suggested having his two brothers sign a kind of tanazoul (waiver): in the event that something were to happen to him, his brothers would not make any claims on our estate. We own a house in the United States, but that was quickly settled in a will. It’s the house in Morocco that really worries me”  she says.

“I’ve become paranoid and I’m very afraid for my daughter after what my mother and grandmother went through”

Leïla

She continues: « The subject is a bit sensitive with my husband. I admit that I sometimes give him the impression that I don’t like his brothers or don’t trust them. My husband and his brothers have already agreed that when their parents pass away, their sister will inherit exactly the same share as each of them;  quarter each. But I’ve become paranoid, and I’m terrified for my daughter after everything my mother and grandmother went through. »

“I knew a family in middle school with three sisters who were very wealthy. The day their father died in an accident, their uncle cut them out of the inheritance”

Stories like Leïla’s grandmother’s, which seem as though they belong to the 1960s, continue to unfold today. « I knew a family when I was in middle school with three sisters who were very wealthy. The day their father died in an accident, their uncle cut them out of the inheritance. They went from living in a huge villa in one of Marrakech’s upscale neighborhoods to a three-room apartment in the city center. They couldn’t understand how an uncle they had been so close to could throw them out » recalls a woman who witnessed the ordeal.

This misappropriation of the inheritance was made possible because the two young girls’ father had not taken the necessary legal steps during his lifetime to prevent it.

Written in French by Omar Kabbaj & Soufiane Chahid, edited in English by Amina Kadiri