A first in MENA region, Morocco moves to recognise unpaid domestic work as 'real labour'

Morocco is moving to recognise unpaid domestic work as "real labour" that deserves compensation in cases like divorce or inheritance, a potential first in the MENA region that could reshape how the country values contributions by women within a household.

At a seminar in Rabat, legal experts and women's rights activists gathered on 15 April to discuss how the justice system could begin to account for the millions of hours of 'invisible work' within the household—such as cooking, cleaning, childcare, emotional labour—carried out mostly by women.

The meeting, part of a joint programme with the European Union and the Council of Europe, comes as Morocco prepares to update its Family Code (Moudawana) for the first time in two decades.

In a speech read on his behalf, Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi called domestic labour "a fundamental factor in wealth production," arguing that recognising it is key to achieve gender equality.

The proposed reforms could reshape how Moroccan courts handle property and financial settlements during divorce, especially when women have sacrificed careers to run households.

The idea isn't new, but it's gaining traction in the North African country. Among the changes proposed in the Moudawana's December 2024 revision is formally recognising a spouse's unpaid domestic labour as grounds for compensation during divorce.

Women's rights groups say it's long overdue.

Moroccan women perform over 90 percent of all unpaid domestic work, averaging nearly five hours per day, according to the Rabat-based Policy Centre for the New South. Yet this work remains uncounted in GDP, unrecognised in courtrooms, and uncompensated when marriages end.

A 2012 estimate by Morocco's High Commission for Planning valued unpaid domestic work at 285 billion dirhams ($28 billion), nearly 35% of the country's GDP at the time. A wage-based estimate would push that to 513 billion dirhams ($51 billion).

"Recognising the value of domestic work in national accounts could help promote more equitable public policies and improve the status of women", said the report.

Speakers at the Rabat seminar pointed to legal precedents from Latin America, where courts have awarded financial compensation for unpaid domestic work. They debated whether Moroccan courts could adopt similar approaches, and how to quantify such labour in divorce rulings.

In the MENA region, no country has fully and explicitly recognised unpaid domestic labour as labour that merits compensation as a legal right across the board.

A few countries, such as the UAE, Egypt and Tunisia, have taken partial steps to acknowledge or compensate for unpaid domestic labour in specific cases of divorce or property settlements. Yet, these steps have generally been limited to specific cases or constitutional principles rather than codified legal reform.

Morocco's path will ultimately be shaped by the final version of its Family Code, which has drawn criticism since its release last December.

The draft, unveiled on 24 December 2024 by Justice Minister Ouahbi and Religious Affairs Minister Ahmed Taoufiq, follows a year-long consultation process with religious scholars and feminist organisations.

The two men—often seen on opposite ends of Morocco's ideological spectrum—presented a reform that attempts to reconcile "modern rights with religious tradition." Only a few were satisfied.

Conservative critics accused the religious Council of Ulema of caving to pressure, citing proposals that limit polygamy and enhance women's rights as threats to sharia and to "men's dignity."

Ahmed Raissouni, former head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, said the reforms undermine men "before their marriage, during their marriage, after divorce, and after death."

Meanwhile, progressives argue the reforms don't go far enough.

The draft includes several key changes such as shared guardianship over children, the right of divorced mothers to retain custody after remarriage, and clearer financial protections for women post-divorce. But rights groups say inconsistencies and legal loopholes remain.

Bouchra Abdou, of the Association Tahadi, welcomed the recognition of unpaid domestic work as a "major step," but warned that enforcement will depend on judges.

Others, like Khadija Rougani of the Spring of Dignity coalition, flagged the continued possibility of polygamy and the allowance of consensual divorce through a religious notary, without a judge's oversight. "These gaps risk rolling back the very protections we're trying to build", she said.

The controversy has already had an impact. On 6 January, the House of Representatives reportedly postponed a session scheduled to discuss the amendments. No official reason was given.

If it passed, Morocco's proposed move would likely be the first comprehensive legal recognition in the MENA region of domestic work as real labour with the potential for compensation in the context of divorce or inheritance

For now, the Family Code remains in draft form. The Moroccan parliament has yet to set a date for the vote.