VZCZCXRO2555
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHCL #0213/01 3340943
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300943Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8560
INFO RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0001
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0731
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3912

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CASABLANCA 000213 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA, DRL/NESCA, NEA/PI, AND NEA/MAG 
COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM KWMN SOCI MO
SUBJECT: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ADVANCING AS ISLAMIST APPEAL WANES 
 
REF: CASABLANCA 163 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: On November 22, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global 
Women's Issues, Melanne Verveer, met with Morocco's most prominent 
women policy makers, civil activists, journalists, and CEOs in 
Casablanca.  Some of the country's leading women were highly 
critical of the Islamist-oriented Party of Justice and Development 
(PJD), and some praised Fouad El Himma's Party of Authenticity and 
Modernity (PAM) for reinvigorating the country's political scene and 
the national debate on women's rights in Morocco. All of the women 
applauded the King for breaking the logjam of conservative 
resistance to promote the advancement of women's rights.  In a 
meeting earlier in the day, the MFA's point person on the Forum for 
the Future, Ambassador Amrani, reiterated Morocco's willingness to 
host the Gender Institute, an offer Ambassador Verveer welcomed. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------- 
The Islamist Obstacle 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Morocco's most prominent female policy makers, civil 
activists, journalists, and CEOs told Ambassador Verveer and Consul 
General Millard that gender discrimination did not constitute a 
major obstacle for women legally, but does exist in society.  Most 
posited that the Islamist-oriented Party of Justice and Development 
was the biggest obstacle in the advancement of women's rights in 
Morocco.  "The PJD has put up socio-political barriers that deter 
the progress of women", said Nadia Lamlili, one of CNN's African 
journalists of the year. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) "Unfortunately, the Islamic and secular groups are divided 
by religious convictions that make it nearly impossible for them to 
work together, weakening the drive for gender equality in Morocco," 
confided Bouthanya Houssaini, a Member of Parliament. Dismissing 
claims made by Islamist politicians that Islam is the basis for 
women's rights, Latifa Jbabdi, another Member of Parliament who was 
a leader in the struggle for Morocco's 2004 Family Code reform, 
critiqued deficiencies in the Family Code, specifically the 
provision in the law, introduced by Islamist lawmakers, which allows 
judges to grant exceptions to the legal age of marriage, 18. Jbabdi 
said the loophole has created a significant increase in underage 
marriage in Morocco's more conservative rural areas, with 13,000 
exceptions given since the inception of the Family Code. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Aicha Ech-Chenna, the founder of Association Solidarite 
Feminine (ASF), an NGO providing services in Casablanca to help 
unwed women with children gain the knowledge and skills necessary to 
ensure their own livelihoods and the recent recipient of a 
million-dollar grant from the Minnesota Opus Prize Foundation, told 
Ambassador Verveer that she had been chastised by Islamists like 
those in the PJD for her work with single mothers.  Aicha explained 
that the conservative critics accuse ASF of "promoting promiscuity" 
and "harboring prostitutes," motivated by a fear that ASF's actions 
will open the door to more radical ideologies of the West. 
Demonstrating the reach of this opposition, ASF Director Hafida 
Elbaz told Ambassador Verveer during a visit to ASF earlier in the 
day that many Moroccan businesses were reluctant to advertise their 
collaboration with, and financial support for, ASF due to the social 
stigma and implications of such a partnership, although business 
support from international companies, such as Proctor & Gamble, has 
increased. 
 
------------------- 
The El Himma Factor 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Despite the strength of these conservative viewpoints on 
social issues, Ambassador Verveer's interlocutors all agreed that 
the Islamist political appeal has dwindled in the last year.  "The 
PJD is losing ground in Morocco's political scene," opined Asma 
Chaabi, the country's first-ever elected female mayor from 
Essaouira.  Explaining this decline, the country's female leaders 
said former Interior Minister Fouad El Himma's new Party of 
Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) has proven an effective secular 
alternative to the PJD, but with an additional objective of 
promoting gender equity.  "El Himma is someone who really listens 
and is attuned to the needs of Moroccan women," said Ech-Chenna.  A 
sophisticated grassroots mobilization and carefully selected 
candidates propelled the PAM forward in this year's communal 
election, and PAM's emphasis on transparency and effective 
governance has poached voters who had previously supported the PJD 
for its reputation for honesty and competency.  Bouthayna assessed 
that PAM's success has altered the political climate in the 
Parliament, and she has never been more excited to be a 
Parliamentarian. 
 
CASABLANCA 00000213  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
---------------- 
The Ladies' King 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Advances in women's rights are due not only to Morocco's 
home-grown women's movement, but also and perhaps more importantly 
to the leadership of King Mohamed VI.  Using both his secular and 
religious authority to break the logjam of resistance from 
conservative and religious factions of society, the King carried the 
burden of the Moudawana (New Family Code) on his shoulders, said 
Ech-Chenna.  Nevertheless, participants cautioned, the King can only 
move society so far.  If women want to see continued advancements 
they will need to fight for it again and again, Jbabdi told us. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) While obstacles to gender equality certainly remain, Hynd 
Bouhia, the Harvard Ph.D. former director of the Casablanca Stock 
Exchange, maintained that Morocco's social renaissance is genuine. 
She noted that Moroccan women educated abroad are returning home to 
take up roles in growing Moroccan businesses.  Unlike other 
countries in the Middle East, women face no legal requirements such 
as the need to obtain the husband's permission in order to travel or 
start a business.  Gender equity issues in the workplace still 
exist, Bouthayna argued, but they have not prevented women from 
succeeding. 
 
-------------------- 
The Gender Institute 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In a separate meeting earlier in the day, Ambassador 
Youssef Amrani, the MFA's point person on the Forum for the Future 
(FfF), told Ambassador Verveer that Morocco was prepared to host the 
Gender Institute if the U.S. supports the role. The Gender Institute 
was announced by the Secretary during her recent visit to Marrakesh 
for the FfF, an offer Ambassador Verveer welcomed. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Morocco's cumulative successes in women's rights, societal 
liberalization, and political reforms, extensively documented in 
U.S. Mission reporting over the years, make the Kingdom an ideal 
host for the Gender Institute.  The well-entrenched and growing 
social support for these reform measures, and the demonstrable 
commitment of Morocco's King, suggest that Morocco will continue to 
be a leader among Muslim majority countries in supporting full 
women's equality and civic participation, an example to other 
nations, and a long-term partner of the U.S.  End Comment. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Ambassador Verveer cleared this cable. 
 
 
MILLARD