Moroccan women MPs issue call for political equality on National Women’s Day

2008-10-14

On the occasion of National Women's Day in Morocco, female legislators launched a campaign to encourage wider political representation of women in the 2009 communal elections and implementation of the quota system.

By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 14/10/08

[Imane Belhaj] Mohand Laenser, Secretary-General of the Mouvement Populaire (left) and Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skelli at the signing of the Call for Equality.

For Moroccan women fighting to achieve equality, the biggest challenge is ensuring effective political representation. Morocco's female MPs and ministers adopted a plan of action on Friday (October 10th) to strengthen the participation of women in the 2009 communal elections.

Following its 4th general assembly in Rabat, the Forum of Moroccan Women Parliamentarians launched an awareness campaign dubbed "Female Voices for Democracy" on National Women's Day. They signed a "Call for Equality" to recognise women’s role in reinforcing democracy, equality and development.

The group, established in 2005 as a non-partisan initiative of women MPs to help them achieve common goals, plans to hold events promoting women's balanced participation in the political life of the kingdom through International Women's Day on March 8th and up until the June elections.

Moroccan women hold only a half-percent of the country's local political positions. That slim percentage yielded only 127 local representatives out of a total of 24,000 candidates in the last communal elections, noted Forum Chairman Touria Charki.

Charki said it was about time that women's potential was put to some good use by implementing the quota system for all communal councils, not just for parliament. She added that women's poor representation in the communal councils is a shame and a stigma to 21st century Morocco.

"It’s absolutely essential that we get above the level of 0.56%," Nouzha Skelli, the Minister for Social Development, Family and Solidarity told Magharebia. "Women have a lot of potential and they must be given the opportunity to show what they’re capable of," she added.

"There are a number of obstacles hindering women from attaining decision-making positions," said the Forum's Zohour Chikaki. She supports adopting representation of no less than one-third to boost women's political presence.

Indeed, some 1,000 Moroccan associations banded together last spring for the One-Third Movement a large-scale campaign aimed at convincing politicians to amend the electoral code such that a third of listed candidates in the upcoming municipal elections are women.

Fatma Kouari, a communal activist, agreed that the gains achieved in the 2002 parliamentary elections, thanks to a 10% quota system, were not enough.

"Women's representation remains flimsy in parliament and almost non-existent in communal councils," she added.

''The quota system did not serve the actual potential of Moroccan women. It remains a form of discrimination that violates equality and democracy," Professor Rachida Sbeili concurred.

The message of Morocco's female politicians is resonating at the highest levels. King Mohammed VI spoke about the subject at the opening of Parliament on October 12th, two days after the forum's initiative was officially launched.

"Our ultimate purpose is to ensure equitable representation of women in local government and, more importantly, enable local advisers to rely on the contribution of Moroccan women, known for their integrity, realism and social fibre," the king said.

In celebration of National Women's Day, some 700 women travelled to Rabat from across Morocco to participate in various events, including the signing of the Call for Equality.