Forgotten world (59): Morocco
Morocco – population 32 million – is the most westerly of the North African countries known as the Maghreb. Strategically situated with both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, but with a rugged mountainous interior, it stayed independent for centuries while developing a rich culture blended from Arab, Berber, European and African influences.
Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956. Ever since independence, it has been ruled by a monarch, currently King Mohammed VI. He has been seen as a moderniser, and there has been some economic and social liberalisation, but the monarch retains sweeping powers. Under the constitution, the king can dissolve parliament and dismiss or appoint the prime minister.
Economic liberalisation has attracted foreign investment and officials point to better basic services in shanty towns and rural areas. But some non-government groups say little has changed, with poverty still widespread and unemployment remaining high. A key reform has been the Mudawana, a law which grants more rights to women. The king has said it is in line with Koranic principles, but religious conservatives have opposed it.
I once spent a week in Morocco.