My husband repudiated me "

hen I was three months

w
regnant". Says Meriem, a 30
p
ear old woman from
y
abat."As soon as he did, he
R
hrew me out of the family
t
ome. Both my parents were
h
ead. I had nowhere to go.
d
imes were hard. It was
T
ifficult to find a job with a
d
baby. Now he is five years old. I've to put him in apprenticeship with a tailor. I can't afford to
."send him to school
Under Morocco's old family code, Meriem's 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 practiced under highly restrictive conditions,
replaced a family code that women's groups said "turned women
into perpetual minors under the authority of men". Women are
recognized as men's sisters in terms of property, management and
.marriage
Through reform of its family code, Morocco has made it possible for women to enjoy far.reaching rights, which has strengthened the family unity
(From Quick Way (Adapted

.Comprehension
.A-Choose the best title for the passage
.A-Women and power
.B-women and marriage
----------------------------------.C-Changing status of Moroccan women

.B-Are these sentences true or false? Justify

------------- .Meriem was divorced when her child was three years old -1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .After divorce, Meriem went to her parents' house -2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.With a new family code, Moroccan husbands can't verbally divorce their wives at any time -3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .With the new family code, women and children are more protected -4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .According to the new family code, early marriages are allowed -5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.C-answer these questions

?Why doesn't Meriem have the possibility to give her son an education -1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?What benefits has the new family code brought to children -2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?How will women benefit from the new family code -3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?At what age could girls marry before the new family code -4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------?How were women considered before the new code -5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.D-Complete these sentences

Meriem couldn't find a job earlier because -1
---------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks to the new family code, women now -2
------------------------------------------------------------------The family unity will become stronger if -3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

?E-What do the underlined words in the text refer to

------------------------------------- : he-1
----------------------------------- : him-2
----------------------------------- : they-3

:F-Find in the text words that mean almost the same as

----------------------------------- (divorced (paragraph 1-1
------------------------ (have enough money to pay for (paragraph 1 -2
---------------------- (left and no longer wanted (paragraph 4 -4
--------------------- (increasing and augmenting (paragraph 6 -5
------------------- (having more than one spouse (paragraph 7 -6
--------------------- (strictly limiting or controlling (paragraph 7 -7
------------------------ (lasting for the whole life (paragraph 7 -8

.Time to laugh and have some fun

One day, a teacher was attempting to teach the names of animals to a class of 5-year-olds.
She held up a picture of a deer, and asked one boy, "Billy, what is this animal?" Little Billy
looked at the picture with a disheartened look on his face and responded, "I'm sorry Mrs.
Smith, I don't know." The teacher was not one to give up easily, so she then asked Billy,
"well, Billy, what does your Mommy call your Daddy?" Little Billy's face suddenly
brightened up, but then a confused look came over his face, as he asked, "Mrs. Smith, is
?"that really a pig