In rural areas, illiteracy rates are as high as 89.5% among women.

After years of advocacy to reform the personal status code (Moudawana), in 2003 the age of marriage was raised from 15 to 18, and women were given the right to initiate divorce and retain assets acquired during a marriage.

Cultural traditions, illiteracy, and lack of knowledge still prevent women from invoking their rights or reporting crimes against them despite reforms in the Personal Status Code.

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