COVID-19 Pandemic Fuels Rise in Child Marriages in Morocco, UN Official Warns

"While Morocco can be proud of the considerable decrease in the number of girls married before the age of 18 in recent years, collective vigilance must not wane. According to NGO reports, these traditional marriages represent a significant share of child marriages. We must not forget either the impact of the crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic on the registration of child marriages," said Luis Mora in an interview with the newspaper Le Matin. According to the public prosecutor’s office, Moroccan courts received 19,966 requests for authorization for marriages of minors in 2020, of which 13,335 were accepted.

Globally, the situation is alarming. "It is estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic would have led to 13 million additional child marriages in total," says the UNFPA representative in Morocco, deploring the fact that hundreds of millions of girls are still affected by this harmful practice. "The economic upheavals linked to the pandemic would also have made girls and their families more vulnerable to harmful coping strategies, including child marriage," he continued. Requiring joint action to better understand this issue.

Luis Mora also assured that UNFPA is providing concrete, well-founded and proven solutions for the fight against child marriage, and in a sustainable way, for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and adolescents. As an example, he mentions a study conducted by the National Observatory for Human Development (ONDH), with the support of UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women. The aim is to report on the situation of early marriage, to enlighten the authorities concerned on its causes and consequences and to propose recommendations for the design of reforms and public policies capable of putting an end to this practice.