Blog 2: Ability or Social Status

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While traveling across Morocco, I have seen many different kinds of people and have observed that there are different expectations for women in regards to the law. In the US, coming from personal experience, I have observed that women can do anything and have the same level of representation as men in the law [up until recently but that can be said not to be related]. According to an article from the Freidrich Naumann Foundation (2024), Morocco is one of the most progressive countries for women where they can enjoy access to political and economic life, and single women [with no guardian] can travel freely. That ends at criminal and civil law. There is one of particular intrest called the inheritance law. According to Islam, women are only entitled to 1/3 of the property left to them. 

In contrast, the United States has laws that are generally based on gender equality in inheritance. Women and men have equal legal rights to any property left to them by parents or spouses. According to the Legal Information institute of Cornell Law, inheritance laws in the US does not descriminate based on gender. In many states surviving spouses are legally protected and cannot be completly from an inheritance. Civil inheritance cases in the U.S. are handled through probate courts, where spouses and children are typically protected equally under state law.

These differences can be seen to be influenced by religion. Even though the United States is a majority Christain country, the law tends to try and stay neutral or even sometimes bend the rules in order to "even the field" between men and women. While Morocco is more progressive than other Muslim countries, they still let their beliefs play a big role in how they practice law. 






Sources:

25 U.S. Code § 2206 - Descent and distribution. (2026). LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/25/2206

‌Vagt, S. (2024, April 9). Morocco: Women’s rights in Morocco. Friedrich Naumann Foundation. https://www.freiheit.org/morocco/one-small-step-womens-rights-one-giant-leap-morocco 

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Comments

  1. Olivia CatanzaroMay 18, 2026 at 3:11 PM

    Mayra, I really enjoyed reading your post because it helped me better understand how Moroccan law reflects both progress for women and the continued influence of religion on certain legal systems. I thought your comparison between inheritance laws in Morocco and the United States was especially interesting because it showed how different societies balance tradition, religion, and ideas of gender equality in very different ways. Your response also made me think more critically about how legal equality can look different depending on cultural and religious contexts. One thing I found while reading more about this topic is that debates over inheritance reform in Morocco have become increasingly controversial in recent years, especially as younger generations and women’s rights organizations push for more equal inheritance laws while others argue that changing them would conflict with Islamic principles. According to Human Rights Watch, activists in Morocco have continued advocating for reforms connected to gender equality in family law and inheritance rights. My question is: do you think Morocco’s inheritance laws are more likely to change over time as society becomes more globalized, or do you think religion will continue to play the dominant role in shaping these laws?

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