The state of a democracy can be judged by the rights of women. The participants in the round table dedicated to empowering women in the public and political life in Morocco, organized by the Bulgarian School of Politics “Dimitry Panitza” with the International Organisation of La Francophonie’s support, united around this idea. Over 50 participants took part in the event: representatives of women’s groups of all parliamentary represented political parties, ambassadors of over 10 countries, representatives of the European Commission in Rabat and the International Organisation of La Francophonie, major non-governmental organizations working in the country, the Citizen School for Political Studies in Morocco, as well as alumni of the Summer Academy for Strengthening Democracy in the Euro-Med Region. Jossour was the local non-governmental organisation that promoted the event.

Dr. Irina Alexieva, the executive director of the BSoP, opened the forum in a crowded auditorium in Rabat. “The purpose of today’s meeting is to outline the knowledge and skills which will empower women in Morocco to participate in the public and political life”, she said. The Bulgarian ambassador to Morocco, H.E. Boryana Simeonova, greeted the participants in the forum. “The presence of Moroccan women is becoming more and more noticeable and unavoidable but there is still much to be done”, ambassador Simeonova declared and confirmed Bulgaria’s support for the democratic process in Morocco. In the following three-hour discussion the participants shared the main issues and challenges they faced and underlined the need for trainings and acquiring knowledge and skills that would allow them to have a more active role in public life. “We should not stand idle after this year’s general elections and instead start working towards our rights and the women in Morocco should be convinced to go out and vote in the next elections”, the participants in the forum said. They expressed their expectation for the Bulgarian School of Politics’ training programmes to start being effectively implemented in Morocco starting next year.