Changing status of Moroccan women

My husband repudiated me when I was three months pregnant, says Khadija, a 30 year-old woman
from Rabat. As soon as he did, he threw me out of the family home. Both my parents were dead. I had
nowhere to go. Times were hard. It was difficult to find a job with a baby. Now he is five years old. Ive
put him in apprenticeship with a tailor. I cant afford to send him to school.
Under Moroccos old family cod, Khadijas husband and thousands of other men could verbally divorce
their wives at any time, and their decision was legally binding.
Now all this is about to change. Under a new family code or Mudawana as it is known, husbands will
now have to go to court to make their repudiation binding. Many people believe the new code will make a
difference to the problem of abandoned women and children. Under this new code, whoever keeps the
children keeps the marital house. So they will no longer be on the streets. This is an important
protection for women and children.
The new code puts women on a more equal footing with their husbands, notably raising the age at
which girls can legally marry from 15 to 18 and giving wives joint responsibility with their husbands in
family matters. The code, which became law in 2004, and which also says polygamy can now be practised
under highly restrictive conditions, replaced a family code that womens groups said, turned women into
perpetual minors under the authority of men.
Islam recognizes the equality between men and women, said Dr. Abdelhadi Boutalib at the Fourth
World Conference on women. Women are recognized as mens sisters in terms of property, management
and marriage. Through reform of its family code, Morocco has made it possible for women to enjoy farreaching rights, which strengthened the family unity.

I/ COMPREHENSION (15 points)

BASE YOUR ANSWERS ON THE TEXT

A/ Answer the following questions. (3 points)

1- Why couldnt Khadija find a job?

2- How will children benefit from the new family code?

3- How were women considered before this new family code?

...
B/ Are these sentences TRUE or FALSE ? Justify. (4 points)
1- Khadija doesnt have the possibility to give her son an education.
.
2- Women were equal to men before the new code.
.
3- The children will stay in the family home after divorce.

4- A woman is considered divorced if the husband tells her : You are divorced.

C/ Complete these sentences with information from the text. (2 points)

1- According to . husbands must go to court to divorce their wives.
2- The children are no more on the streets because ...
D/ Find in the text words or expressions that mean the same as: (3 points)
1- divorced (paragraph 1) =
2- Position or status in relation to others (paragraph 4) =
3- change or improvement (paragraph 5) = ....
E/ What do the underlined words in the text refer to? (3 points)
1- Their = ..
2- They = .
3- Its = ..

II/ LANGUAGE (15 points)

A/ Rewrite these sentences beginning with the given words. (4 points)

1- Dont get near the swimming pool; or you will get drowned, the mother told her son.
The mother warned her son...
2- A commission was considering his problem when he phoned.
His problem
3- The thief didnt manage to open the safe although he had all the tools.
In spite of .
4- Why didnt you phone me when you arrived at the train-station? Samir asked his father.
Samir asked his father
B/ Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the list. (2 points)
Looking forward to / gifted / caring / disappointed / amazing / interest / damaged
Ahmed is a young Moroccan student; he can do complex mathematical
calculations very quickly. He also shows in learning foreign languages.
His ability to write in English is extremely .. He is
publishing an English school magazine very soon.
C/ Put the verbs between brackets in the correct tense. (3 points)
1- By the end of this year I (save)enough money to buy a computer.
2- When I arrived home from school, the postman (deliver) a small parcel.
3- Parents must avoid (interfere) in their childrens personal choices.
D/ Give the correct form of the words between brackets. (2 points)
Young workers not only face (danger) working conditions. They also face an
(adult).... of (unemployed) .
and (illiterate)....
E/ Fill in the blanks with the right phrasal verb from the list. (2 points)
Put up / bring about / turn down / look after / pick up / bring up / turn off
1- Remember to .. the TV set before you go to bed.
2- Smoking can cancer and lung diseases.
3- A long time ago people could children with very little money.
4- My mother is out, so I have to .. my little brother.
F/ Match the words that go together to make appropriate collocation. (2 points)
1- critical

a- emancipation
2- political
.
b- equality
3- women
..
c- thinking
4- gender
..
d- stability

III/ WRITING (10 points)

In the last few years, womens conditions and roles have changed a lot in Morocco ( at home, at work,
in politics, etc.)
Write an essay about womens conditions and roles in the past and the present.

III/ WRITING (10 points)

In the last few years, womens conditions and roles have changed a lot in Morocco ( at home, at work,
in politics, etc;)
Write an essay about womens conditions and roles in the past and the present.