Morocco pushes ahead
csmonitor.com
.....After 30 years of fighting, more than 60 women's associations, hundreds of nongovernmental organizations, and hundreds of thousands of Moroccan women watched last month, as King Mohammed VI declared before the Moroccan parliament in Rabat that "women are equal to men under the law."
"We have fought so much, so much for this change," beamed Nouzha Skalli, one of the 35 female members of parliament newly elected in 2002, under the introduction of a quota reserving 30 seats for women.
Only Tunisia has preceded Morocco in such revolutionary reforms to their Family Code and yet without addressing the question of inheritance.
"There is something new in Morocco, which is pretty strong compared to other Arab countries - human rights organizations, which greatly supported the women's movement," explains Rabéa Naciri, president of the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women.....
Afghan women make political gain
csmonitor.com
.....Of the 500 seats, a minimum of 64 of them are reserved for women, allowing for the election of two delegates from each of Afghanistan's 32 provinces. But women can also be chosen in general elections, and by President Hamid Karzai - who will personally appoint 50 seats. Women might also be elected in other categories reserved for minorities - such as the seminomadic Kuchis and refugees in Pakistan and Iran - raising hopes among women's groups that close to a 100 women could participate..... |
