In commemoration of International Women's Day, the spiritual city hosted a meeting on gender parity.
The Fès-Saïss Association organised a symposium last Saturday at the spiritual city's Congress Palace on the theme "Moroccan women and access to spheres of decision-making", in commemoration of International Women's Day celebrated on 8 March. The Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development, Bassima Hakkaoui, who was honoured on this occasion for her work in favour of women, deplored the inequity of international reports regarding Morocco in terms of poverty indices and human and women's rights.
She assured that the parity rates between the two sexes in Morocco were very encouraging, rising from 10 to 17% in terms of women's representation in Parliament, from 2.2 to 12% in the House of Councillors, from 34 to 39% in the civil service and from 16 to 29% in terms of women's access to decision-making centres. "Women's representation at the level of local authorities saw a considerable leap between the 2009 and 2015 electoral cycles," she indicated, stressing that this progress was achieved thanks to quotas and electoral lists reserved for women. The Minister also recalled the momentum recorded in terms of draft laws relating to equal rights between the two sexes, the fight against violence against women, and the protection of the family and childhood, domestic workers, and persons with specific needs.
Participants in the symposium, including university researchers, legal experts, and civil society actors, acknowledged that total equality between men and women in Arab and Muslim societies is a "difficult" equation, ensuring, however, that the future and progress of any society are dependent on the emancipation and empowerment of women, who constitute half the population. They stressed that equality between men and women is evolving in Morocco, but that there is still a long way to go to comply with the provisions of the 2011 Constitution, notably Article 19 which stipulates total equality between men and women. "Despite the progress made over the last ten years, several obstacles continue to stand in the way of consolidating gender parity in society in general, and at work in particular," it was stressed. Furthermore, the themes debated during this national symposium focused on legal mechanisms for boosting the role of women in decision-making centres, women's access to Parliament and parliamentary diplomacy, the role of civil society and its impact on decision-making, the place of Moroccan women in the judicial system, and Moroccan women and the challenge of financial autonomy.
