I wrote this in october, but I still think its interesting...so far no news about a revised code.
On July 30 2009 the General Assembly of Mali passed a reformed family code, which is a series of laws specifying how the state will deal with issues of inheritance, marriage, divorce, adoption and similar topics. Mali is a land locked West African country which is 90% Muslim and is an internationally recognized functioning democracy.
Women’s groups had long been advocating for laws to give women greater equality in social and family situations. In 2007 Marie-Louise Sylla, a Paralegal who worked with Le Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme de l’Enfant et de la Famille (the Ministry for the Promotion of the Woman the Child and the Family) explained that while in the constitution men and women were equal, secondary texts like the family code were “completely against women.” Changes to the code were therefore seen as a victory for Women’s groups.
In the new code women were no longer legally ordered to “obey” their husbands, instead husbands and wives owed each other “loyalty, protection, help and assistance." Marriage also required a civil ceremony in addition to any religious ceremony. The former laws included aspects of Sharia and widows were granted only one eighth of their husband’s belongings if they did not remain in the family by remarrying a brother. Under the new code women were given greater inheritance rights and more options for divorce. Yet the new family code was not a complete cultural overhaul as both polygamy and female circumcision, common practices in Mali, were left out of the reforms.
While these changes seemed like important advancements for women’s rights, there were massive protests across the country throughout August. Some women attended the protests, but the majority of participants were men. Mahmoud Dicko, President of the High Islamic Council of Mali voiced concerns with the law code. He found the secularization problematic and unfitting with the current Malian context. “80% of marriages are celebrated solely at the mosques without being confirmed at city hall. There are no marriages celebrated at city hall that don’t also take place at the mosque or church. That doesn’t exist in Mali. So how can marriage be considered a secular act?” The emphasis on the inconsistencies of the new stipulations with existing practices is a central part of this conflict between legal and social reform. Women’s groups hoped legal reform would lead to social change while Dicko criticized the law for not reflecting the current social norms.
Of course an important question is why the code was passed now, given the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and the continuing relevance of Islamic leaders’ opinions in society. There had been a two-year review of the code going on since 2007. However, the code passed right before the General Assembly took recess, and there was little public education or debate before the vote. Some people accuse the President of trying to push it through without engaging the citizenry. Others question the role of international institutions, as the European Union was said to support the reform. The director of a chapter of a grassroots radio station who wished to remain anonymous due to his public profession explained, “it seems that the code is an imposition of the European Union, even though they said that the EU’s aid was not directly to the adoption of the code. That means that indirectly Mali will suffer if the code is not adopted.” Amadou Ongoiba, a Malian jurist and coordinator for L’Association d’Appui Pour le Développement Intégrée (Association for the Support of Integrated Development) a grassroots organization engaged with women’s empowerment says that people consider the code to be “copy and paste” and not a locally designed reform.
Situations such as this illustrate how ideas of modernization and westernization are often confused in post-colonial bureaucracy. The Ministry of Justice published a commentary on the law on August 19. Mamadou Tidiane Membele, the National Director, explained that a goal was to make a text that both respects the traditional and religious laws and international human rights. The issue of imposing laws based on human rights from a top-down governmental policy as opposed to legitimizing local norms in a government context is a continuing aspect of postcolonial discourse in West Africa. Human rights are an important part of the social dialogue in Mali, and there are many non-governmental organizations working towards ensuring people’s rights are respected. However, the activists pushing for legal reform fitting with the human and women’s rights doctrines are considered to be a minority in Mali.
A further issue is that conforming with the human rights doctrine and creating laws stemming from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is framed as being a way to modernize Mali. Mahmoud Dicko took offense with the underlying assertion of the reformed Family Code that modernization entails abandoning Mali’s religious and cultural norms. “We think that we should be civilized while staying how we are. Civilization is not synonymous with disowning ourselves to be what we are not.”
Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Touré had been in full support of the law, but given the backlash he has resubmitted it to the General Assembly for further consideration. While this is a disappointment to those who supported the law, it is an important acknowledgement of popular sentiment. Amadou Ongoiba explains that the new Family Code “does not correspond with the collective consciousness of Malians. The Law is the codification of the realities of a given community at a specific time in its evolution. It is conceived, developed and dies with time.” It is important that the proposed reforms be considered in light of the opinions expressed both by those opposed to the changes and those who support it. Given the controversy over the Family Codes, questions remain as to what degree proposed reforms will acknowledge divergent national and international agendas and the extent to which the legislative proceedings may provide an opportunity for dialogue in Mali between women engaged in the struggle for equality and conservative religious leaders.
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