The second mechanism relates to the establishment of the system of the
compulsory legacy which allows the children of a pre-deceased son or of a predeceased daughter the right to benefit from a claim on the inheritance.
The third mechanism relates to the system of the community of property between
married couples put in place by virtue of the law n° 98-91 of 2nd November 1998,
amending the law n° 60-30 of 14th December 1960 on the organization of the
social security systems and this, in harmony with the new relations of coresponsibility and partnership governing the couple, as are stipulated in Article 23
(new) of the Personal Status Code.
446. Although Article 24 of the CSP sanctions the separation of assets between
married couples considering that women dispose of their property acquired during
marriage under the same conditions as their husbands, the law n° 98-91 of 2nd
November 1998 gives the couple the possibility of opting for the system of
community of property. This system has the objective of giving them joint
ownership of one or several buildings destined for family use. The law specifies
that only the property acquired after marriage falls within the scope of community
of assets, with the exception of that which is acquired through inheritance, legacy
or by donation.
447. Furthermore, Article 207 of the Penal Code had been repealed by virtue of
the law n° 93-72 of 12th July 1993, amending and completing certain Articles of
the Penal Code. This law thereby eliminated the mitigating circumstances
enjoyed by the husband who murdered his or her accomplice at the moment
when he catches them red-handed in the act of committing adultery. The
maximum penalty was 5 years in jail whereas the simple case of grevious bodily
harm leading to death could be punishable by 20 years in jail. By abolishing these
mitigating circumstances enjoyed by the betrayed husband, the legislator
institutes equality between the married couple in the matter of crimes of passion.
448. A new law n° 2004-73 of 2nd August 2004, amending and completing the
Penal Code concerning the repression of offences against public decency and
sexual harassment, had been promulgated to fill the legal gap represented by the
absence of punishment against those committing harassment. This law
completed the Penal Code in the area of offence to public decency and sexual
harassment. It reflects, moreover, the concern to more firmly implant collective
civic behaviour and to preserve the dignity of the individual in general, and that of
the woman in particular.
449. The former over-simplistic image of the woman was based on a distribution
of roles between the sexes which is presented as « natural » and therefore
inconvertible: to the men, the salary and politics, to the women, the house and
procreation. A real transformation of gender relationships towards greater equality
and confidence assumes that the men question themselves radically about
themsleves and about this formerly dominant image. For this reason, the
objective of the interest on the improvement of the woman’s image in the media
and other publications as well as on the revision of educational porgrammes is to
inculcate the principle of gender equality in the minds of the children and of the
youth and to present an objective and realistic image of the woman in the school
books. This image, reflecting her status within the family, underlines the principles
of harmony, of mutual respect and the sharing of responsibilities which should
prevail in family relations and in society.
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