Newly Appointed Equality Secretary Salima Saa Reverses Stance on Women’s Rights Ministry

Salima Saa’s opinion on the relevance of creating a ministry in charge of equality seems to have changed, or at least evolved. She has been appointed Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men within the government of Michel Barnier, unveiled on Saturday. Yet twelve years ago, she had expressed her opposition to the creation of a Ministry of Women’s Rights, recalls Huffpost.

"We are listening to women more than activists. A Ministry of Women’s Rights, I find that ridiculous in 2012, not modern!" Salima Saa had declared in 2012, in her capacity as deputy spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign in that year’s presidential election. These remarks have been brought back into the public arena after her entry into the Barnier government.

She succeeds Aurore Bergé and inherits an equality secretariat placed, not under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister, but rather under the Ministry of Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality between Men and Women, led by Paul Christophe. A man at the head of the department in charge of equality, a first since 2017 when this secretariat was created.

For feminist activists, this is a worrying "setback". Moreover, Salima Saa’s competence for this position raises questions and concerns, since "no mention of any possible experience or commitment" in favor of women’s rights is highlighted in her LinkedIn profile, observes Libération. "The challenges are numerous, we are waiting for a roadmap and ambitious means," former MP Albane Gaillot wished in a post on X.