The Hague-based Gender Concerns International also observing elections in Morocco from a gender perspective
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Press Release
The Hague, November 21st 2011
In cooperation with the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights
The Hague-based Gender Concerns International also observing elections in Morocco from a gender perspective
A group of 35 women will be observing the parliamentary elections in Morocco this week from a gender perspective, on behalf of Gender Concerns International, an NGO based in The Hague. The management team left for Rabat yesterday evening from Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.
The elections in Morocco are the first elections since the constitutional referendum last July. The election monitors have been carefully selected and will be thoroughly trained. This is the second gender election monitoring mission (GEMM) for Gender Concerns International in a short period of time. Just last month the organization monitored the elections in Tunisia.
The referendum in Morocco was the result of a protest movement this past year, influenced by the popular uprisings and calls for democracy all over the Middle East and Northern Africa. The newly approved constitution is aimed at slowly curtailing the power of the king.
The democratic process will only allow for peace, security and safety, when it is completely open on different levels to all members of society. Such a democracy is flawed, if women, for whatever reason, cannot or do not want to fully participate. Altering the course of this process is then deemed necessary.
Gender Concerns International supports women all over the world in claiming their role as "agents of change". At the moment, the organization is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Sudan and the MENA Region (Tunisia, Egypt, Jemen and Libia).
Note for the editor
For more information, please contact Harmke Kruithof, Public Relations and Communication, tel. 070 444 50 82, email: harmke@genderconcerns.org. You can also contact ms. Sabra Bano, director of Gender Concerns International, email: sbano@genderconcerns.org, tel. +316 539 657 84. The preliminary report of the monitoring mission in Tunisia is on our website, www.genderconcerns.org.