shifts in political leadership in the late s including the victory of a socialist opposition party and the ascendance to the throne of king mohamed vi enhanced support for political liberalization and gender equality enabling womens demands to be heard womens rights advocates responded to this challenge by establishing alliances with other changeoriented forces engaging in public awareness campaigns and framing their claims in ways that appealed to islamic precepts as well as to universal human rights principles the reformed law remains faithful to islamic values and traditions while giving women significantly more rights in particular it introduces womens right to autonomous decisionmaking by abolishing the notion of male guardianship and the wifes duty of obedience establishes equal rights and responsibilities in the family and equalizes and expands womens and mens rights to initiate divorce