Middle East Briefs
Parallel to the Center’s scholarly work, Middle East Briefs provides a brief analysis of a single issue at the top of the region’s political, social, or economic agenda. Targeted primarily at decision-makers and opinion leaders, the publication was launched in 2005.
Latest Brief
July 2024 – The Opposition Effect: Islamism and Women’s Rights in the Midst of Morocco’s Family Code Reform
Ian VanderMeulen
Middle East Brief 159 (Summary) — How has the recent downfall of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) influenced the debate over King Mohammed VI's September 2023 call to reform Morocco’s Family Code, the Mudawwana? Last updated in 2004, the Code’s reform has become a flashpoint between conservative and progressive forces, especially in areas of women’s rights like marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Instead of opposing Mudawwana reform as it had in the past, the PJD has this time offered proposals addressing some of the 2004 Code’s widely criticized faults. In this Brief, Ian VanderMeulen explores the significance of this shift for the PJD and broader Moroccan politics and society. He examines the Mudawwana reform process, the PJD’s recent history, and “third way” feminist trends, highlighting how the appearance of political competition between the PJD and the Palace masks a deeper ideological alignment on matters of religion and governance. This “opposition effect,” VanderMeulen argues, bolsters the Monarchy’s power amid liberalization, while opening potential for more profound political change.
Ian VanderMeulen is a Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center.