Grantee profile: Amal

One of twelve images from campaign poster illustrating the changes Moroccan women are seeking in a proposed Violence Against Women law -- Amal is one of the organizations spearheading the country-wide campaign for its passage.

A corresponding caption reads: "Prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence without the eyewitness requirement."

Founded in 2002 in the mountain town El Hajeb, the Association Amal pour la Femme et le Développement (Amal Association for Women and Development) was the first women’s rights NGO in its area. Founded by sister and brother Khadija and Mohammed Belhouss, its original aim was educating sex workers (many of whom have fled oppressive or violent situations), about their rights and ways to protect them.

With resources from the Fund for Global Human Rights, Amal soon expanded its activities to include other women whose lives are plagued by violence, to whom it provides psychological, medical, and legal support, as well as human rights education. In 2008, with Amal’s support, more than 400 women filed legal claims in cases of domestic violence and other issues, yet only 2 percent of the victims of domestic violence won their suits, given the near impossible legal hurdle of proving they were attacked—particularly the requirement that an eyewitness testify that the woman was abused. This fact, coupled with Amal’s reputation as an organization trusted by women in the region and its experience training smaller community-based organizations, made it a natural partner for Global Rights’ campaign for a Violence Against Women Law.

Co-founder Mohamed Belhouss described Amal’s participation in the advocacy campaign as a “three-year, three-step process” The first phase was diagnostic—Amal created a survey about different types of domestic abuse and violence and administered it to forty women, representative of different demographics (some educated, some not, some married, some divorced) in its region. The information it gleaned from the survey, as well as from roundtables it conducted in towns and communities around the region, allowed Amal to identify the primary concerns of women in its region—for example, many felt that their local police were both inept and not empowered to intervene when called to the scene in domestic violence cases.

Global Rights published a short booklet containing the ideas collected by its ten partner NGOs and a poster with twelve images capturing the most highly sought reforms to help reach illiterate women. Armed with these materials, Amal, like its partners, embarked on the second phase of the campaign—raising awareness in towns and communities around its region, meeting with local women and smaller, community-based organizations.  In each community, Amal members set up a tent in a main thoroughfare, inviting in anyone who wished to speak with them about the proposed reforms. Amal also conducted meetings with local government officials and representatives to the national parliament, cultivating their ideas as well as educating them about the NGO campaign’s proposals. This is the first time such local advocacy has been utilized as part of a national campaign; the partner NGOs believe this outreach will engender support not only for the bill’s passage, but also for its implementation at the local level.

Informed and driven by the ideas and hopes of women across the country, the third phase, still ongoing, is the translation of those ideas into legislation. Together with national and international experts, legal professionals, representatives of the government and the health sector, in March 2010, Amal and its partners came together in Errachidia to draft a proposed bill. With bill in hand, the partners have made their case for increased legal protections to members of parliament, and have reason to hope that their efforts will result in sponsorship by a parliamentarian for the fall 2010 legislative session.

Another image from the campaign poster: "Evict perpetrators of domestic violence from the family home."

Despite limited resources—Amal has a $54,000 budget—Fund grantees like Amal are breaking new ground in promoting legal protections for Moroccan women, and the organization’s impact and geographic reach continue to grow.  Its participation in this initiative has been transformative, not only for the women it serves, but also for the organization and its staff. As Amal looks toward future goals, the lessons and innovations of this campaign have, in the words of Mohammed Belhouss, “opened new doors” for social change in Morocco.