Comments on: Morocco: Naming laws, springtime quiet and Sufi music http://globalvoicesonline.org/2007/05/01/morocco-naming-laws-springtime-quiet-and-sufi-music/ The world is talking. Are you listening? Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:53:52 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Kamal http://globalvoicesonline.org/2007/05/01/morocco-naming-laws-springtime-quiet-and-sufi-music/comment-page-1/#comment-1480178 Kamal Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:11:27 +0000 http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/05/01/morocco-naming-laws-springtime-quiet-and-sufi-music/#comment-1480178 My friend has just returned from Canada and she plans to settle in Morocco for good. She has a two years old kid who has the Canadian nationality. Thanks to the newly amended citizenship code, my friend can now transfer her Moroccan nationality to her son who is born to a non-Moroccan father ( a right that was denied to women for a long time). However, she is facing another kind of problem related to naming her son. While abroad, she gave her son the Arabic name of Amir (prince), but this name is restricted and not approved by the Moroccan government because the country is a kingdom and only the royal family members are entitled to use the name! To satisfy the Moroccan authorities, however, she registered her son under another name that no one uses because every one calls her son Amir including me. It took Moroccan NGOs and human rights organizations a long time to convince the government to change the Moroccan citizenship code so as to improve gender equality in the country, and I think in the presence of more pressing issues (corruption, poverty, illiteracy, etc.), issues that are of more importance to the Moroccan public, there will not be a change in the near future regarding naming laws in Morocco. My friend has just returned from Canada and she plans to settle in Morocco for good. She has a two years old kid who has the Canadian nationality. Thanks to the newly amended citizenship code, my friend can now transfer her Moroccan nationality to her son who is born to a non-Moroccan father ( a right that was denied to women for a long time). However, she is facing another kind of problem related to naming her son. While abroad, she gave her son the Arabic name of Amir (prince), but this name is restricted and not approved by the Moroccan government because the country is a kingdom and only the royal family members are entitled to use the name! To satisfy the Moroccan authorities, however, she registered her son under another name that no one uses because every one calls her son Amir including me.

It took Moroccan NGOs and human rights organizations a long time to convince the government to change the Moroccan citizenship code so as to improve gender equality in the country, and I think in the presence of more pressing issues (corruption, poverty, illiteracy, etc.), issues that are of more importance to the Moroccan public, there will not be a change in the near future regarding naming laws in Morocco.

]]> By: melleg http://globalvoicesonline.org/2007/05/01/morocco-naming-laws-springtime-quiet-and-sufi-music/comment-page-1/#comment-1479891 melleg Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:33:07 +0000 http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/05/01/morocco-naming-laws-springtime-quiet-and-sufi-music/#comment-1479891 So, I'm moving to Morocco in August to get married and we'll see from there where will get established. If we stay in Morocco and I have a kid (Inshallah) are you telling me that if I register the kid with the Moroccan Authorities it HAS TO have a Muslim name ? The kid is already going to have the father's last name which is Moroccan, why should they have any say over the first name ? If that is the case, I guess my kids will have 2 names !!! ...One registered at the US Consulate and one for Morocco. Pas juste cela...ca ne compte meme pas les noms français ??? So, I’m moving to Morocco in August to get married and we’ll see from there where will get established. If we stay in Morocco and I have a kid (Inshallah) are you telling me that if I register the kid with the Moroccan Authorities it HAS TO have a Muslim name ? The kid is already going to have the father’s last name which is Moroccan, why should they have any say over the first name ? If that is the case, I guess my kids will have 2 names !!! …One registered at the US Consulate and one for Morocco. Pas juste cela…ca ne compte meme pas les noms français ???

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