Workshop spurs Moroccan women in politics

Despite recent electoral victories, Moroccan female councilors struggle to make their presence felt.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 11/02/11

Moroccan female communal councilors suffer from discrimination, male-dominated thinking and problems in attaining decision-making roles. To help overcome these obstacles, a Moroccan NGO organized a series of training sessions in all 16 regions of the Kingdom.

"Among the main conclusions was the need for continuing training for women in the political field to meet their needs," Nouzha Allaoui, co-ordinator of network "Women for women", said at the conclusion of the January 27th event.

"So the network is working on plans to create a school for women with the aim of enhancing their skills so that they can get into political life," added Allaoui, whose group organized the Rabat workshop.

The event, which brought together over 700 Moroccan female councilors, revolved around a number of subjects, including ways to prepare a local development plan and forge alliances within local councils.

Although the 2009 communal elections brought 3,428 women into public office, women "suffer from the marginalization tactics used by men", according to attendee Asmae Drissi Azami.

"Men organize meetings outside the council, and sometimes in the evenings," she told Magharebia. "Some elected women are also unfamiliar with procedures and find themselves faced with legal problems."

Azami added that the workshop enabled women "to overcome their fears" and learn about "political work and management in the process".

Trainer Khalid Sabri said that it was time to develop women's management capabilities so that they can occupy their due place in politics.

"If men can leave the business of running the family home to women, then women are also capable of managing local affairs," Sabri said. "By their nature, women are better suited than men to managing institutions."

He stressed that women must take positions of responsibility, rather than remain content to be in the background. The aim, he said, is to have more and more women chairing committees and councils.

"We're not just looking for numbers here; we want effective, high-quality work," Sabri said.

The training session concluded with adopting a list of recommendation. Attendees encouraged female local politicians to organize themselves into associations dedicated to their needs. They also called for defending women's political rights and stemming discrimination, urging political parties, charities and unions to play their part in training women.

According to Alaoui, the hope is to step up the pace of training in the run-up to the legislative elections. In addition, there will be lobbying to pass electoral laws to increase women's representation in the Parliament.

"In the end, our aim is to arrive at the principle of equality," she stressed.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/02/11/feature-01.