In Morocco, women's voices in political affairs are under-represented and even when elected, parliamentary practices are structured in such a way as to prevent women MPs from gaining influence. Electoral regulations impose reserved seats for a single term, while parliamentary communications and outreach generally focus on plenary sessions, where male MPs are much more visible.

This overshadows the in-depth and detailed work undertaken by committees and working groups where women have more opportunities and are more active. The Thematic Working Group on Equality and Equity, established in 2011 to undertake studies and evaluate laws and policies from a gender perspective, provides a platform for women MPs to make meaningful contributions. However, as an ad hoc committee, it has no oversight or legislative function, which limits its role and impact.

Programme objectives

The objective of this 12-month programme is to strengthen women's voice, participation, effective influence, and recognised role in political decision-making in the Moroccan Parliament. 

Programme activities

The programme will work to achieve its objectives by:

1. Offering training to women MPs to help build their skills, for example in communications and building effective alliances. Recently, for example, WFD carried out training using its ABLE (Alliances, Liaison, Lobbying, Education) toolkit. The 2-day training, focused on building alliances and bridges as a key skill;

2. Facilitating a peer-to-peer learning exchange scheme engaging MPs from the UK, Canada and/or the MENA region to share their experiences;

3. Supporting the Thematic Working Group on Parity and Equity to develop its workplan.