A master class given in the Chilean capital Santiago highlighted the pioneering role of HM King Mohammed VI in ensuring that Moroccan women benefit from all the rights guaranteed to their fellow human beings in developed countries.
During this master class, given at the Central University of Chile (Ucen) by the Ambassador of Morocco Kenza El Ghali, the emphasis was placed on the impetus given by the Sovereign to the promotion of women’s rights ” at the level of legislation, aspirations and achievements”, with the involvement of all of society and not only the feminist movement.
The Moroccan diplomat, who was speaking on the occasion of International Women’s Day on “the question of Moroccan women in the 21st century”, affirmed that the Kingdom is “a crossroads of cultures, religions and civilizations, where the question of women is not an exclusively women’s affair, but rather a concern for the whole of society”.
At the institutional, human and social levels, she continued, Morocco has undergone a long process of democratic reforms and made significant progress in consolidating the rule of law and protecting human rights. And to point out that the Kingdom has implemented, during the last 23 years of the reign of HM the King, a series of measures through the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), such as the reform of the Family Code, the evaluation of the development of the last fifty years and the promotion of equality between men and women.
“The path has been very long, but fruitful, from the establishment of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER) to the new development model”, welcomed Ms. El Ghali, who also recalled that the 2011 Constitution expressly enshrines gender parity and equal opportunity and creates an Authority to combat all forms of discrimination.
The Moroccan Constitution, she pointed out, stipulates that “men and women shall enjoy, on an equal footing, civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights and freedoms, set out in the Constitution, as well as only in the international conventions and pacts duly ratified by the Kingdom and this, in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, the constants and the laws of the Kingdom”.
According to Ms. El Ghali, Morocco has been a pioneer in the region in the gender approach, ensuring equal opportunities in planning and budget management in all government sectors and integrating the gender issue at every stage of the budget process.
By way of illustration, the Moroccan diplomat noted that 34% of management positions are held by women, while in diplomacy the presence of women amounts to 30% in the corps of ambassadors. Women also occupy more than 28% of positions in the judiciary and 27% of CEOs in the business world are women.