Morocco briefs UN meeting on women promotion actions
Morocco-UN, Politics, 3/7/2000

Moroccan Secretary of State for Social Protection, Family and Children Mohamed-Said Saadi told a UN meeting on women's conditions that the inception of his department in March 98 was meant to promote and coordinate actions and policies for women.

The Moroccan official was addressing a meeting of the UN commission on women's conditions held in preparation for the UN General Assembly's extraordinary session, slated for June to discuss "Women in year 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the 21st century." He said the department, the first of the kind since Morocco gained independence in 1956, has prepared a plan for women's integration in development, in close collaboration with women's associations and all other bodies involved in development activities.

He explained that there is a consensus that priority should be given to women in the rural areas, enlarging women's education, the promotion of gender-equality culture in school syllabi and the legal, political and institutional empowerment of women. He explained how political will in Morocco to promote equality is illustrated by concrete actions, such as girls' schooling, health awareness and education campaigns, draft amendments to the electoral code, the creation of a university chair on women and development and a project to create a data bank on marriage, divorce and violence against women.

The Moroccan official also took part in the first ministerial meeting of the African office of women conditions, stemming from the Addis Ababa conference. The meeting assessed enforcement by African countries of resolutions and decisions adopted the 1995 Beijing conference on women.

The African officials agreed to concert their action at international meetings and to encourage the Economic Commission on Africa to take more action for women integration in development and for promoting the gender approach in all activities. It was also decided to deepen thought on poverty feminization through national and sub-regional encounters.

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