1st Annual Parliamentary Forum on Equality and Parity Kicks Off in Rabat

The first annual Parliamentary Forum on Equality and Parity opened on Friday at the House of Representatives under the theme “The Parliament: An Essential Lever for Strengthening Equality and Parity”. The opening session of this event, placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, was attended by Lower House Speaker Rachid Talbi Alami, Upper HouseSpeaker Mohamed Ould Errachid, Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah, and Minister of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. The Forum was also attended by Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family Naima Ben Yahya, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) Ahmed Reda Chami, and Regional Director of UN Women for Arab countries Moez Doraid. This meeting is part of the House of Representatives’ strategy to implement the Royal Guidelines and the constitutional and legal provisions for promoting women’s rights, and as part of the commitment of the House and all its components to the national effort to promote these rights. The Forum aims to institutionalize parliamentary debate on equality and parity, pave the way for public dialogue between Parliament and all stakeholders concerned, and exchange experiences, expertise and best practices in the field of equality and parity. The objectives of this gathering are to review the Kingdom’s achievements and challenges in the field of equality and parity, and to propose parliamentary avenues of action to accelerate the implementation of gender equality in Morocco and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 National Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it will be an opportunity to launch a debate on the assessment of progress achieved in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Morocco acceded in 1993. This parliamentary meeting was attended by members of the thematic working group in charge of equality and parity at the House of Representatives, Moroccan parliamentarians and representatives of friendly parliaments, civil society associations and experts. The Forum will shed light on comparative experiences and best practices in the field of equality and parity, through two main themes, “Empowering women and enhancing their participation in public life” and “Social public policies and the objective of achieving equality and parity”.