UNCLAS    SIPDIS     CASABLANCA 00185
CXCASABL:
ACTION: ECON
INFO:   FCS CG EXEC POL PAO

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: ACG: MORDONEZ
DRAFTED: ECON: LMENDEZ
CLEARED: ECON: MDETAR, USAID: KPOTTER

VZCZCCLI196
RR RUEHC RUCPDOC RUCNMGH RUEHFR RUEHMD
DE RUEHCL #0185/01 2611619
ZNR UUUUU ZZH

R 181619Z SEP 09

FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8522
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0723
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3898

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CASABLANCA 000185 
 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG 
COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV KWMN MO
SUBJECT: BANKING ON MOROCCO'S RURAL WOMEN 
 
REF: A) CASABLANCA 163 
B) 08 CASABLANCA 232 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Official statistics do not accurately reflect 
the participation of rural women in Morocco's agricultural sector. 
As a result, women's contributions to the economy remain 
underreported and under-appreciated.  According to the Moroccan 
Association for the Development of Rural Women, nearly 1.1 million 
women are employed in Morocco's agricultural sector, of which 
400,000 are said to be working informally.  Discussions with civil 
society and government interlocutors indicate that while legislation 
such as the New Family Code (the Moudawana) has altered the 
socio-economic climate for women in Morocco, the country's rural 
women continue to face enormous obstacles.  Unaware of their rights, 
they are among Morocco's poorest, least educated, and most 
marginalized communities.  Nevertheless, encouraged by civil 
society, Morocco's rural women are successfully using financial 
instruments such as microcredit loans and cooperatives to gain 
financial independence that yields social as well as economic 
dividends.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Morocco's Hidden Productive Force 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Living in the isolated regions surrounding the Atlas 
Mountains and the country's north-eastern region bordering Algeria, 
rural women's contributions to the agricultural sector in Morocco 
are underreported and as such are not fully appreciated in economic 
terms.  According to the Moroccan Association for the Development of 
Rural Women (AMAPFRO), nearly 1,100,000 women are employed in 
Morocco's agricultural sector, of whom 400,000 are employed 
informally.  Working up to 60 hours a week, women participate in 
crop production and livestock care, provide food, water, and fuel 
for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify 
their families' livelihood, according to AMAPFRO. For example, rural 
women provide much of the labor force for the cultivation of 
important export crops such as citrus products. 
 
--------------------- 
Obstacles to Progress 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The new Family Code (Moudawana) passed in 2004 instituted 
important changes to the rights of women, such as providing equal 
rights to men and women in marriage and in divorce, raising the 
legal age for marriage from 15 to 18, and giving widows the right to 
inherit their husband's land (reftels).  "Despite these critical 
reforms, five years after its passage, the Moudawana is rarely 
enforced in Morocco's countryside," said Nabila Freidji, Executive 
Director of a leading microfinance organization, Cash One. 
Gender-based discrimination continues to deny rural women (who 
remain generally uninformed about their rights) access to and 
control over land and other productive resources.  This in turn 
limits their access to credit, as commercial banks are reluctant to 
lend without collateral. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) It comes as no surprise, then, that the country's rural 
women are amongst Morocco's poorest, least educated, and most 
vulnerable members of society.  According to official United Nations 
statistics, the poverty rate among rural women stands at 18 percent, 
compared to 7 percent among urban women.  Not only are Morocco's 
rural women poorer than those in the urban milieu, but they are also 
less educated and in worse health.  Bouthanya Iraqui, a Member of 
Parliament and former president of the Moroccan Association of 
Female Entrepreneurs, admits that Morocco's civil society and 
government have for too long neglected the precarious situation of 
the country's rural women.  "To develop a more productive and 
sustainable agricultural sector, Morocco can no longer let the 
country's rural women lag behind," added Iraqui. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Education presents another obstacle, as women's illiteracy 
limits their economic mobility.  A recent report by the United 
Nations Development Program indicates that close to 80 percent of 
Morocco's rural women are illiterate.  For some, the tribulations 
begin at birth.  In Morocco's impoverished rural areas, some parents 
do not register their daughters with the local authorities due to 
the often cumbersome and costly registration process.  Without a 
birth certificate or identity card, girls are not able to attend 
school, access public health services, and/or other government 
services. 
 
--------------- 
The Way Forward 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) However, hope is not lost.  Encouraged by civil society, 
Morocco's rural women are successfully using financial instruments 
such as microcredit loans and cooperatives to gain financial 
independence. In Morocco's rural communities, microcredit that 
combines financing with basic education is showing results in 
eliminating poverty and empowering women.  By taking out a series of 
small loans, Aisha, who lives in the one of the country's poorest 
regions, was able to buy rice wholesale rather than retail, which is 
then resold to local distributors.  Her profits rose.  She now 
employs two individuals, can pay her children's school fees, and 
travels around town on a second-hand motorcycle.  This financial 
independence has paid dividends well beyond the pocketbook.  Many 
women, particularly younger rural women, have found that independent 
sources of income give them the confidence to question traditional 
views of rural women's roles both in the household and in society, 
and to challenge gender biases that limit their access to resources, 
said Mohamed Maarouf, Executive Director of one of the country's 
largest microcredit institution, Planet Finance. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Collectives are the new vanguard of female empowerment in 
rural Morocco, where women pool together their limited resources in 
order to exert more leverage in the market place. This model has 
been used successfully among the female artisanal community in the 
rural outskirts of Marrakech, nearly doubling their profit margins 
and more importantly, providing a financial safety net.  Encouraged 
by non-governmental organizations such as Planet Finance, these 
small collectives have also become a source of political leverage 
for Morocco's rural women.  "Local politicians respect and listen to 
the demands of these collectives because they are a well organized 
voting bloc," said Iraqui. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT: The precarious state of Morocco's rural women is 
a reminder of the social inequalities that continue to plague 
Morocco and the difficulties hindering government efforts to raise 
rural standards of living.  Success will depend on wider access to 
education and credit for women.  In general, empowering Morocco's 
rural women will not only benefit the countryside, but will go a 
long way in the country's efforts to create a modern, 
outward-looking agriculture sector, which accounts for close to 40 
percent of Morocco's GDP. 

 
ORDONEZ