RAJA KHAYRAT

Marrakech- The Moroccan Institute for Local Development (Institut Marocain Pour le Développement Local- IMADEL) held a seminar in Marrakech with the motto, “Political leadership of local elected women: Challenges and perspectives in Morocco and the Mediterranean” as part of the EqualMED project. Many women participated in the seminar hosted by the Ennakhil Association for Women and Children in Marrakech yesterday (November 8). Zakia Mrini, president of the Moroccan Institute for Local Development, said that the project aims to empower women’s political participation and to ensure gender equality in the region by strengthening municipalities in Morocco in cooperation with the Catalan municipalities in Barcelona. “The reality is that women's participation in decision-making positions and their impact on public policies remain dependent on social and cultural matters,” she said.

The activities of the institute

She pointed out that the Moroccan Institute for Local Development was established in February 2018 with the cooperation and partnership of the Ennakhil Association for Women and Children and the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona) to enhance the political participation of women in Morocco. “The project offers a common space for sharing experiences and good practices in the area of local participation and gender equality between municipal councils from Barcelona and Marrakech-Safi area. The objective of the project is to accompany the creation of a new mechanism of local democracy, the Equal Opportunity Instances, as well as to help provide it with gender perspective policies at local level,” Zakia Mrini said.

More than 240 elected women have benefited from the project

Speaking about the target groups of the project, Zakia Mrini said that the project targets more than 14 local communities and 17 communities in the Barcelona region, in addition to the Jusoor network, which consists of five universities in Spain and three communities in the Marrakesh-Safi area. “More than 240 elected women have benefited from the project,” she added.

Call for struggle

Pilar Díaz Romero, provincial deputy to the Barcelona Provincial Council, spoke about gender-based violence and called for a struggle against this phenomenon, causing obstacles against women's political and economic empowerment.