King wants equal opportunity treatment for Moroccan women
Morocco, Politics, 10/12/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Friday called for a fairer treatment of Moroccan women in all walks of life.

"We aspire to a fairer and more equitable treatment of Moroccan women in all walks of national life," said the king in a speech he made at the opening of the fall session of the parliament.

The king also congratulated "the newly-elected and re-elected representatives and particularly the ladies representatives, being convinced that the reputed earnestness, realism and integrity of Moroccan women will have a beneficial impact on the House proceedings."

Thirty-five women won seats in the Moroccan 325-member House of Representatives (lower chamber of the parliament).

The figure marks a remarkable rise in women's representation in Morocco to 11.7 percent compared to 0.6 percent only in the former parliament.

The rate puts Morocco on top of Arab states in terms of females' political representation.

The Kingdom is followed by Syria, which has 25 women MPS out of 250, Tunisia, which counts 16 female MPs out of 175 and Egypt where 11 women are MPs.

The 11.7 percent rate is quite close to European and American levels, (15 percent in Europe and 16 percent in America).

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