The policy of encouraging access of Moroccan women to positions of responsibility in the administration is based on several pillars, said the Kingdom's Ambassador in Tunis, Hassan Tariq, during this meeting devoted to the handing over of the MENA Regional Network for Equal Opportunity in the Public Service's rotating coordination to Jordan, which succeeds Tunisia.

These pillars include HM King Mohammed VI's strong will for women's empowerment, the remarkable progress of the legal and institutional framework, an adequate political environment, and a strong societal dynamic, the Moroccan ambassador specified.

He further explained that Morocco's strong political will, under the wise leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, is reflected in the enshrining of the principle of equality as one of the founding values of the Moroccan societal project and a major guarantee for the policies of women's empowerment and support for their access to positions of responsibility on the executive, administrative and electoral levels.

The Moroccan diplomat added that the constitutional, legislative and conventional framework is "an appropriate reference to promote gender equality in access to positions of responsibility in the administration," noting that Morocco's 2011 Constitution reflects the State's effort to enshrine the principles of parity, meritocracy and equal opportunity between women and men.

In this sense, he recalled the creation of the authority for parity and the fight against all forms of discrimination, as well as the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the approval of the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Through these measures, the Kingdom honors its international commitments to respect human rights, including those related to the empowerment of women, he stressed.

He noted that this policy has encouraged the access of women to high positions and responsibilities within the public administration, recalling the improvement of women's representation in elected bodies, exceeding 24% of seats in the House of Representatives, 25% in local municipalities and a third of ministerial portfolios.

In a statement to MAP, Hayat Lahbaili, Country Director of the Forum of Federations, an international governance organization founded by Canada in 1999, emphasized the great efforts made by the Kingdom in the field of women's emancipation.

In this respect, Lahbaili stressed that this interest is manifested by the strong political will shown and by the promulgation of a set of measures such as the elaboration of a law on high functions and the reservation of a quota for women to promote the principle of balanced representation in parliament and in prefectural, provincial and regional assemblies.

These measures were not limited to women's access to these councils, but also enabled them to assume positions of responsibility as presidents of communes or regions.