Pro-Women Legal Reform in Morocco: Is Religion an Obstacle?

The question of the role of modern law in triggering social change is of particular importance in societies where customs and norms support the marginalization of some social groups. The conventional view is that the success of the formal law is constrained by the system of informal rules and values which support the prevailing customs, and the law therefore appears as a 'dead letter'. Aldashev et al (2011) mitigate this pessimistic scenario by formally showing that the law has, under certain conditions, the effect of making the custom evolve in the direction of the law. One of the conditions to achieve this effect is the identification of agents with the new law. In this paper, we focus on the adherence of agents to a pro-women legal reform in Morocco, the reform of the Family Code which is religious-inspired legislation. We use a unique database created from a survey we conducted in Morocco in 2008 to provide some evidence about the factors which drive conservative positions with respect to a progressive legal reform. We observe that women who are benefiting from the reform are not unanimously in favour of it. Conversely, a non-negligible part of the male population strongly supports the new legislation. In order to explain these behaviours, we mainly focus on three specific factors: education, location and religion. Contrary to what naïve beliefs would suggest - rural men with a low level of education and intense religious practice express a lower support to the new Family Code -, we find that there is no straightforward relation between the three aforementioned factors (education, location and religion) and the support of the new legislation. Another precondition to the effect stressed by Aldashev et al. (2011) is that agents have sufficient information about the law. The data analysis leads to an unexpected finding: living in rural areas is, in some cases, positively and significantly associated with a higher probability of being properly informed than living in Casablanca city, the economic centre of the country. --

Pro-Women Legal Reform in Morocco: Is Religion an Obstacle?

The question of the role of modern law in triggering social change is of particular importance in societies where customs and norms support the marginalization of some social groups. The conventional view is that the success of the formal law is constrained by the system of informal rules and values which support the prevailing customs, and the law therefore appears as a 'dead letter'. Aldashev et al (2011) mitigate this pessimistic scenario by formally showing that the law has, under certain conditions, the effect of making the custom evolve in the direction of the law. One of the conditions to achieve this effect is the identification of agents with the new law. In this paper, we focus on the adherence of agents to a pro-women legal reform in Morocco, the reform of the Family Code which is religious-inspired legislation. We use a unique database created from a survey we conducted in Morocco in 2008 to provide some evidence about the factors which drive conservative positions with respect to a progressive legal reform. We observe that women who are benefiting from the reform are not unanimously in favour of it. Conversely, a non-negligible part of the male population strongly supports the new legislation. In order to explain these behaviours, we mainly focus on three specific factors: education, location and religion. Contrary to what naïve beliefs would suggest - rural men with a low level of education and intense religious practice express a lower support to the new Family Code -, we find that there is no straightforward relation between the three aforementioned factors (education, location and religion) and the support of the new legislation. Another precondition to the effect stressed by Aldashev et al. (2011) is that agents have sufficient information about the law. The data analysis leads to an unexpected finding: living in rural areas is, in some cases, positively and significantly associated with a higher probability of being properly informed than living in Casablanca city, the economic centre of the country

Using the Law to Change the Custom

We build a simple model of legal dualism in which a pro-poor legal reform, under certain conditions, causes the conflicting custom to go some way toward producing the change intended by the legislator. It then acts as an "outside anchor" that exerts a "magnet effect" on the custom. We illustrate this insight using examples on inheritance, marriage, and divorce issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. We also characterize the conditions under which a moderate pro-poor reform is more effective than a radical reform.Custom, Statutory Law, Inequality, Legal Reform

Scattering of Glueballs and Mesons in Compact QEDQED in 2+12+1 Dimensions

We study glueball and meson scattering in compact $QED_{2+1}$ gauge theory in a Hamiltonian formulation and on a momentum lattice. We compute ground state energy and mass, and introduce a compact lattice momentum operator for the computation of dispersion relations. Using a non-perturbative time-dependent method we compute scattering cross sections for glueballs and mesons. We compare our results with strong coupling perturbation theory.Comment: figures not included (hard copy only), LAVAL-PHY-94-05, PARKS-PHY-94-0

Association grossesse et pseudomyxome péritonéal secondaire à une tumeur mucineuse borderline de l’ovaire: à propos d’un cas et revue de la littérature

Les tumeurs mucineuses de l’ovaire représentent 20 % des tumeurs épithéliales. La forme borderline en est une entité particulière et est de survenue rare particulièrement au cours de la grossesse (1/10 000 à 1/50 000). Nous rapportons le cas d’une patiente de 35 ans G4P3, présentant une grossesse de 22SA associée à une tumeur ovarienne droite gélatineuse, rompue avec implants péritonéaux, dont l’examen extemporané de l’annexectomie a trouvé une tumeur mucineuse au minimum borderline. Une chirurgie radicale a été faite avec à l’étude histologique définitive: une tumeur ovarienne mucineuse borderline avec tératome mature et pseudomyxome péritonéal. A travers ce cas rare et à la lumière d’une revue de la littérature nous insistons sur les caractéristiques épidémiologiques diagnostiques, thérapeutiques et pronostiques de cette rare entité tout en précisant les particularités de son association avec la grossesse.Pan African Medical Journal 2012; 13:3

Rupture utérine sur utérus sain: complication du misoprostol (à propos d’un cas et revue de la littérature)

La rupture utérine sur utérus sain au 2ème et 3ème trimestre de grossesse est une complication obstétricale rare et grave mettant en jeu les pronostics vitaux maternels et fœtaux et le devenir obstétrical des patientes en l'absence de diagnostic et de prise en charge immédiate. Elle survient majoritairement sur un utérus cicatriciel et reste anecdotique sur un utérus sain. Nous rapportons le cas d'une patiente primigeste ayant présenté une rupture utérine sur un utérus non cicatriciel lors d'un déclenchement de travail par le misoprostol pour mort fœtale in utero (MFIU) sur retard de croissance intra utérin (RCIU) et oligoamnios sévère à 31 semaines d'aménorrhée (SA). Nous discutons à travers ce cas et la revue de la littérature, l'extrême prudence qu'il faut garder pour utiliser le misoprostol en cas de déclenchement du travail ainsi que les signes d'appel cliniques, les facteurs de risque, la méthodologie diagnostique et la prise en charge thérapeutique de cette entité rare mais potentiellement grave

Gewalt oder Demokratie : Eine Studie zum Politischen Islam

Diese Arbeit hat das Ziel, den Politischen Islam in seinen weltweiten Ausprägungen darzustellen und seine vielfältigen, auch kontrastreichen Entwicklungen auf lokaler und nationaler Ebene zu beleuchten. Dabei kommt es darauf an, die Wechselwirkungen zwischen dem Politischen Islam und dem gesellschaftlichen Umfeld zu unterstreichen

Apport de L’échographie dans le Diagnostic Anténatal du Syndrome de Prune Belly : À Propos d’un Cas et Revue de la Littérature

L’utilisation de l’échographie au premier trimestre de la grossesse et en particulier par voie endovaginale, permet la découverte précoce de mégavessie et donc des syndromes associés. Le syndrome de Prune Belly ou syndrome d’Eagle–Barrett est une malformation complexe rare avec nette prédominance masculine. Il se caractérise par la triade : aplasie ou hypoplasie de la musculature abdominale, dilatations des voies urinaires et cryptorchidie bilatérale. Il s’associe dans 75% des cas, à des atteintes pulmonaires, squelettiques, cardiaques et gastro-intestinales. Nous rapportons le cas d’un syndrome de Prune Belly découvert à 20 semaines d’aménorrhée (SA). À travers ce cas et la lumière d’une revue de la littérature récente, nous soulignerons l’intérêt de l’échographie anténatale dans le dépistage de cette malformation ainsi que les caractéristiques diagnostiques et thérapeutiques de cette entité rare. The use of ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy and in particular by the endovaginal way helps in the early discovery of megascessy and associated syndromes. Prune-Belly syndrome or Eagle-Barrett syndrome is a rare complex malformation with marked male predominance. It is characterized by the triad: aplasia or hypoplasia of the abdominal musculature, dilations of the urinary tract, and bilateral cryptorchidism. It is associated in 75% of the cases with pulmonary, skeletal, cardiac, and gastro-intestinal disorders. We report the case of Belly plum syndrome discovered at 20 weeks of amenorrhea (SA). Through this case and in the light of a review of the recent literature, we will highlight the importance of antenatal ultrasound in screening for this malformation as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic features of this rare entity