Morocco Reports Decline in Child Marriage Requests, but Practice Persists

In 2022, around 20,097 requests for authorization of child marriage were filed, 6,445 of which were rejected, while a total of 13,652 requests were accepted, said the President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, El Hassan Daki, in his speech delivered on the occasion of the opening of the 2023 judicial year. This figure is down compared to the number of child marriages recorded in 2021, which stands at 19,000. A considerable decrease, but efforts remain to be made to eradicate child marriage.

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"While the law text grants the magistrate the possibility of ruling on the authorization of the marriage of a minor either on the basis of medical experience or on the basis of the social investigation, the various public prosecutor’s offices are increasingly insisting on the need to carry out the two procedures. This was the case in 2022 for 7,288 requests. The public prosecutor’s offices also issued 16,166 requests calling for the refusal to grant authorization in order to defend the interest of the minor," said the official.