Transformative Change

Today our Middle East North African (MENA) policy advocates group had the honor of hearing from Professors Fatima Sadiki and Moha Ennaji about how the family law of Morocco has been reformed to be more supportive of women and children. It was a wonderful example of how transformative change looks from a distance as if it occurred in an instant--but in reality has taken the work of many people over a long period of time. The transformative nature of the changes in Moroccan family law seemed unfathomable to some of the participants from other countries in the region. It was a dramatic reminder that all incremental change does not lead to transformation--but all transformations are the result of many incremental steps--often taken place out of view--that are focused on a united intention. This is what Malcolm Gladwell meant by "the tipping point." The butterfly didn't appear out of nowhere, the Berlin Wall didn't fall by accident, and the current changes in family law of Morocco began in 1946.