The Authenticity and Modernity team within the House of Representatives held, Tuesday, November 10, 2020, a meeting with members of “Mounassafa Daba” coalition, in order to review the contents of the petition that the latter is scheduled to address to the House of Representatives.
This meeting was attended by the head of PAM team, Adil Al Barakat, in addition to PAM board of representatives Muhammed AlHamami, Abderrahim El Kamili, Alhou El Marbouh, Abdelilah Muhajiri and Hamid Gmiza.
In this regard, member of Mounassafa Daba Coalition, El Habib Belkouch, confirmed that the coalition began collecting signatures over the initiative on “Activating the constitutional parity by 2030,” highlighting that this initiative launched an expanded dynamic in order to achieve parity by including the various spectrums of Moroccan society.
Belkouch also explained that, through this petition, the coalition aims to strengthen the presence of women on the national scene including political, economic, social, cultural and environmental fields, in accordance with Article 19 of the constitution, as well as to accelerate the process of building a democratic state, in addition to developing a framework law that defines the rules of equality and parity between men and women, and strengthening the parliament’s function in monitoring the immediate implementation of legal texts related to the representation of women in all fields.
For her part, Coalition Coordinator, Wafae Hajji, indicated that the members of the initiative will direct the petition to the Parliament Chairman, as permitted by Chapter 15 of the Constitution, as a “legal document” will be prepared and submitted in order to monitor parity aspects in the political and institutional sphere, through a comprehensive survey of Legislative texts concerned with women’s representation in decision-making bodies and institutions at the national and local levels, and also, to submit proposals aimed at introducing new amendments as to ensure equality and parity between men and women.
On the other hand, member of Mounassafa Daba Coalition, Khadija El Kour, stated that the petition is a document for all Moroccans, that primarily aims at redressing the deficiency of parity protection, despite its approval in the 2011 constitution, highlighting that the signatures that will be collected will allow the parity bill to be submitted to the House of Representatives in order to enforce parity within the framework of a special law based on an integrated methodology for women’s rights, so that its application becomes the responsibility of all public and private bodies: the state, territorial groups, national and local public institutions and companies, as stipulated in the first paragraph of Chapter 19 (19) of the Constitution.
“The coalition called for the need to pay attention to this issue, in its meetings with the Prime Minister, the Parliament Chairman, and the Head of the Royal Commission for the New Development Model”, El Kour said, noting that the current project will enable the expansion of the circle of confidence among all actors, as it will be a key factor in bringing new bodies.
The list of the petition includes many names, most notably: PAM Secretary General Abdellatif Ouahbi ans Progress and Socialism Party SG Nabil Benabdallah, in addition to Abdelkader Zayer, Latefa Ahrar, Nezha Guessous, Mohamed Abdelwahhab al-Rafiki and Asmae Elmorabet.
Moreover, Abdellatif Ouahbi had recently met with members of the coalition, upon which he reiterated that PAM shall remain dedicated, with its various organizational, political and legislative components, to arguing for the contents of the “White Paper for Equity in the Political and Institutional Field” that “Mounassafa Daba” Coalition submitted, stressing the need to support the demands of women’s movement aimed at strengthening institutions by improving the contents of laws and legislative texts in order to allow optimal access for women to public and political life in order to carry out their roles in dealing with public affairs.
It is noteworthy that the “Mounassafa Daba” coalition is a broad civic initiative composed of a number of associations that defend women and human rights, party leaders, trade unions, civil society associations, scholars and media professionals, with the aim of achieving gender parity.