Global Arab Network | US highlights Women's political representation in Morocco

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US highlights Women's political representation in Morocco

Global Arab Network - - Ayman Khalil

Wednesday, 13 April 2011 04:00

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Washington -The US State Department highlighted Morocco's efforts to consolidate Women's representation in local government and political parties' decision-making structures.

"Women's representation in local government and political parties' decision-making structures increased dramatically in 2009 and continued to increase during the year,” The State Department said in its 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

“Before the June 2009 elections, women held fewer than 1 percent of elected positions at the local level, and only two women served as mayors,” added the report, recalling that following a 2008 agreement between the government and political parties, a minimum of 12 percent of the local council seats (approximately 3,000 elected positions) were reserved for women.

“More than 20,000 female candidates ran for office, with 3,421 winning seats (13 percent of the total). Twelve women were selected in subsequent indirect elections to head local councils as mayors or mayor equivalents, including the mayor of Marrakesh,” the report went on to say.

The document also shed light on the positive changes brought by the reform of the family and nationality codes, noting, in this respect, that Moroccan women can now pass the Moroccan natinality to their children.

On women’s participation in business life, the report said that they are “able to travel, receive loans, and start businesses without their husband's or father's permission.”

“According to 2009 statistics provided by the Moroccan Association of Women Entrepreneurs, more than 5,000 female entrepreneurs operated businesses in the country's formal economic sectors; in addition nearly 2.7 million women worked outside the home, although 75 percent of these women worked in the informal sector,” added the report.
Concerning the 2009 communal elections, the report recalled that “all political parties considered the elections free, fair, and transparent”.

“International and domestic observers assessed the voting and noted the government's effective administration of the 2007 election process,” highlighted the same source.
Le rapport souligne, par ailleurs, la coopération du gouvernement marocain avec les organisations gouvernementales internationales et l'autorisation de visites.

Touching on aspects of the cooperation of the Moroccan government with international organisation, the report gave the example of the third meeting of the Reflection Group on the Strengthening of the Human Rights Council in Rabat on May 27-28, which was hosted by the Moroccan government.

In the same vien, the report noted that the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) met for its 88th session in June 2009 in Rabat.

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