Morocco: Divorce divides Morocco and W Sahara

A new family code in Morocco, known as the Mudawana, is having differing effects on women's rights in the Islamic kingdom and the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which falls under Moroccan rule. Earlier this year, Moroccan King Mohammed VI pushed the Mudawana through parliament. As of February 2004, Moroccan women no longer have to obey their husbands by law, something many Moroccan men saw as enshrining their right to use their fists on disobedient wives.