Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, President of the National Union of Moroccan Women (UNFM), chaired, Wednesday in Rabat, a celebration ceremony on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
After visiting the Union’s “Innovation 4 Her” workshop, which offers a space for creativity and collective intelligence to generate innovative solutions to women’s rights issues, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem attended a presentation on digital solutions for sexual harassment, which was followed by an awareness video about sexual harassment and the value of Moroccan women’s economic participation for a sociocultural and behavioral change.
In a speech on this occasion, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) resident representative, Luis Mora, praised His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s wise vision in paying the highest attention to the promotion of women’s rights, stressing that thanks to His Majesty’s efforts, Moroccan women have become more independent and empowered, with a significant decrease in gender and spatial vulnerability.
Mora also praised the avant-garde action of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem which is part of the promotion of the effectiveness of fundamental rights and sustainable development in Morocco, adding that this courageous action to focus on sexual harassment represents an example of Her Royal Highness’ global vision, as well as her efforts to promote women’s rights in Morocco and internationally.
In this regard, Mora highlighted the launch of a national device for the fight against sexual harassment, the first of its kind in Morocco, the Arab region, and Africa, noting that this initiative reflects the strong involvement and commitment of stakeholders to providing innovative solutions and operational and concrete responses to violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment.
During this event, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem presided over the signing ceremony of two partnership conventions between the public and private sectors in the fields of economy and education.
The first convention, signed by the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment, and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, Chakib Alij, and the Chair of the Union’s legal committee, Naima Acherkouk, is related to the fight against sexual harassment in the professional and economic public and private environment and to the improvement of the working conditions of women.
The second convention is on technological innovation and outreach in the fight against sexual harassment and was signed by Prosecutor General of the King at the Court of Cassation, President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, El Hassan Daki, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family, Aawatif Hayar, Minister Delegate in charge of Digital Transition and Reform of the Administration, Ghita Mezzour, and the Chair of the legal committee of the Union, Naima Acherkouk.
During this ceremony, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem awarded the “Lalla Meryem Prize for Innovation and Excellence” to three innovative project leaders.
This event’s theme, “sexual harassment”, is part of the social and humanist commitment of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem to the situation of Moroccan women, as it addresses the most taboo and harmful issues.
This pioneering initiative sets an example by engaging all parties in overcoming legal, administrative, and strategic issues and providing innovative solutions and cooperative, operational, and practical responses.
This initiative is in line with the wise vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which establishes the promotion of female human capital as a major pillar of national progress aimed at establishing gender balance and harmony, and the primary role and status of women in the dynamics of the Moroccan economic and social development, as emphasized in the 2022 Throne Speech, with the leadership and avant-garde of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem as President of the UNFM and defender of Moroccan women, and with the national efforts to consolidate the Kingdom’s international commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It also aims to contribute to national efforts to promote an economic, social, and institutional environment that contributes to the inclusion and development of women as productive citizens, and to the socio-cultural and behavioral change towards women and to move from the perception of harassment as a small phenomenon to a large-scale phenomenon, as well as to mobilize women and actors in the workplace to fight against this phenomenon.
