Moroccan MP Resigns, Slams Party for Excluding Women from Leadership Roles

The former PJD member not only denounces the situation she describes as chaotic within the party. She criticizes the under-representation of women in decision-making centers within the Moroccan Administration. She denounces a "systematic exclusion" of women from high-level positions of responsibility, even within the government.

The same observation was made by the ADFM (Democratic Association of Moroccan Women), reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. With statistics to back it up, the association points out that out of the 1,160 high-level positions awarded by the current government, only 137 went to women. This represents barely 11.8%, the daily specifies.

Despite numerous appeals, nothing is being done to remedy this situation when the organic law 57-20, which amends and supplements organic law 02-12 on appointments to senior positions, is presented to Parliament. According to Khadija Rebbah, a member of the association, it is rare for a woman to be on the list of appointments validated by the Moroccan government, almost every Thursday. Even the report presented to Parliament by the Minister of Economy and Finance mentions a rate below the minimum threshold.

The El Othmani government, according to the association, makes the promotion of women more of a slogan than an ideal to be achieved. Yet the constitution, in its article 19, has mentioned it. "We need a new social contract in which women participate equally with men at all levels of social life, including in elected bodies. We need a new contract that does justice to women victims of political choices that have all resulted in failure," Khadija Rebbah confided.

The association therefore calls for accelerating the overall reform of the civil service while taking effective regulatory measures to improve the work environment for the benefit of women, the same source specifies.