Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
January 26, 2008

US grants Morocco over USD 3Mn to construct fish landing station south .
Tifnit (south), Jan.26

The United States has granted Morocco USD 3.9Mn to construct a fish landing station in the artisanal fishing site of Tifnit (43 km south of Agadir). Tifnit is among artisanal fishing sites which will receive a financial support from the United States government through Millennium Challenge Corporation funds (MMC), amounting to USD 697Mn. The project aims to improve the working conditions of artisanal fishermen, the development of fishing products and the protection of fishery resources. It provides for the construction of a slipway, fish stores, a hall equipped with an ice factory and a freezer room.On this occasion Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, and US ambassador to Morocco, Thomas Riley, paid a visit to Tifnit site, which includes 169 boats and around 450 fishermen.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/us_grants_morocco_ov/view
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Morocco mobilized necessary means to face cold snap, minister.
Rabat, Jan. 24

The Moroccan government has mobilized various means and taken several measures to face the cold snap in some parts of the country, to prevent what happened in 2006 when unexpected falling temperatures claimed officially 16 lives in the city of Khenifra (Mid Atlas) and other regions in central Morocco. The emergency plan devised to face the cold snap has been activated since the department received two alerts from the provinces of Taroudant (north) and Azilal (center), said on Wednesday Moroccan Interior Minister, Chakib Benmoussa, during the House of Representatives' question time.

The minister noted that the state of alert is maintained throughout the Kingdom to allow for swift intervention if need be. Among the measures taken, Mr. Benmoussa cited the sending, early January, of medical teams to some regions including the province of Taroudant following symptoms of fever and difficulties in respiration. The team examined 165 people who were provided with medicines.

Under the emergency plan, the ministry elaborated a strategy for air intervention backed by helicopters to transport medical teams, along with mobilizing specialized medical teams at the national and regional levels. These teams, he said, stand ready to intervene to give first aids and provide the regions concerned with food products, wood and heating gas.

Provincial and local committees were also set up to follow up alert-prevention and organize regular visits to the villages concerned, 843 of which out of 935 have been visited so far.

Besides emergency interventions, the ministry pursues different programs aimed at opening up rural areas, improving living conditions of the population and bringing about conditions of sustainable development, particularly the second National Program of Rural Roads (PNRR2), according to the minister. The program, which aims to build and revamp 15,500km roads between 2005 and 2015, is expected to benefit three million people on a yearly basis of 300,000. The minister said programs of rural electrification and drinking water supply are under way, along with other actions carried out as part of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched in mid May 2005 to bring down poverty and fight social exclusion.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/morocco_mobilized_ne/view
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21 killed, over a thousand injured in road accident last week in Morocco.
Rabat, Jan. 24

Twenty-one people were killed and 1,102 were injured, including 42 seriously, in a total of 874 traffic accidents that occurred in urban areas over the past week. A press release of the National Police (DGSN) ascribed these accidents to non-control of vehicles, heedlessness of pedestrians and drivers, speeding, non-respect of road rules, and driving under influence. According to the same source, a total of 5,777 fines were paid, amounting to a sum of about USD 159,812 while 9,278 infractions were recorded in the same week.

Road accidents are referred to in Morocco as the "war of roads" due to the thousands of lives they claim each year. According to official figures, an average of ten people are killed daily in such accidents, in particular during the past decade as they increased by 3% annually, causing enormous economic losses, and costing the State about USD 1.2Bn a year, that is 2.5% of the GDP.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/general/21_killed_over_a_th/view
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UN hails Moroccan progress with gender equality reforms.
25/01/2008 By Imane Belhaj

Morocco presented a combined report on the status of its reforms to promote gender equality to a UN committee in Geneva on Thursday. Initial feedback has been positive, saying that Morocco will soon achieve its goals. Morocco presented two reports on its official efforts against gender discrimination to an ad hoc UN committee on Thursday (January 24th) in Geneva.

The UN committee reviewed Morocco's third and fourth periodic reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Moroccan delegation highlighted the efforts it has made for the elimination of gender-based differences, including the lifting of reservations on certain provisions of the convention.

Moroccan women, according to the panel, have made significant advancements in terms of equality and economic and social rights. Committee Chairperson Dubravka Simonovic hailed the country's progress, saying Morocco will soon achieve gender equality. During a preliminary briefing held January 18th in Casablanca, Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skalli said she was optimistic about the positive strides made in Morocco since ratifying the CEDAW in 1993.

She also discussed the reservations Morocco has lifted on several convention provisions, based on feedback from the two previous CEDAW reports presented to the UN in 1995 and 1999. The successful changes concern the harmonisation of domestic laws to international conventions; accelerating reform of the Family Code; establishing a limit to provisions of discrimination in terms of legal rights; speeding up ratification of citizenship law; increasing women's representation in decision-making circles; and reforming labour and criminal law.

Naima Ben Yahia, Director of Women, Family, and Childhood Affairs in the Ministry, said the findings included in the last two reports are the product of extensive efforts made by women's associations in Morocco, in a society that looks forward to justice, equality and democracy. The two June 2006 reports consist of three sections. The first covers reforms to promote the defence of human rights through democracy and the rule of law. These reforms have taken the form of restructuring the Advisory Council for Human Rights and the creation of Grievances Board, the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture and the Authority for Equity and Conciliation.

The second section addresses 16 articles related to combating violence against women; changing women's and men's social and behavioural norms; combating the exploitation of women; equality in political and public life on the national and international levels; laws governing citizenship, education, work and health, social security, rights of rural women and child labour.

The third section, meanwhile, includes provisions on monitoring Morocco's implementation of previous recommendations. These include the Beijing Platform for Action - which promotes the integration of gender equality-based development policies and programs - and the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

Some 185 states have ratified the CEDAW since its adoption by the UN General Assembly in 1979
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/01/25/feature-01
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Spain grants Euro-15Mn loan to Moroccan micro-finance NGO .
Madrid, Jan. 19

Spain's Microcredit Fund (FCM) will grant the Moroccan microcredit NGO, Fondation Zakoura, a loan amounting to Euro 15Mn with a preferential interest rate of 2.45%. The loan, which the Spanish government approved on Friday, will be paid up in 10 years, with a five-year grace period.
The FCM is a public institution affiliated to the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI).
Fondation Zakoura is a non-profit organization created in 1995 that offers microcredits as its prime service. It also offers financial, educational, cultural and civic services and products for disadvantaged populations.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/spain_grants_euro-15/view
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Morocco's tourism industry 'generating more money'. 
22/01/2008

The revenue generated by Morocco's tourist industry is increasing, new figures have revealed. Mohamed Boussaid, the country's tourism minister, told local press that the overall amount produced by the sector last year was likely to work out at more than £3.9 billion. This compares with a figure of £3.5 billion recorded during 2006, which itself was 29.2% higher than during the previous year. Commenting on the increase, Mr Boussaid was quoted by Panapress as saying: "We are far beyond the 2006 figures." The data also shows a period of consistent growth in the sector during the last three years. This means that demand for rental accommodation in Morocco will also be rising, which could make it a potentially good option for foreign property buyers to consider. Plans to boost the country's tourism industry further are already underway, as the government is aiming to attract 10 million foreign visitors a year by 2010.
http://www.ready2invest.co.uk/news/article.jsp?id=18434047&category=18434047
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Morocco aspires to export local rural electrification experience, official.
Marrakech, Jan 24

Morocco aspires to export its home-grown rural electrification experience, mainly towards African countries with strong development potentials, Director Rural Electrification Development at the Moroccan electricity utility (ONE) said on Thursday. "We aspire to develop, overseas, the know-how and the expertise through the Global Rural Electrification Program (PERG), which is considered as "an achievement worldwide," Mr. Abdessamad Saddouq told MAP on the margins of the International Conference on Electricity held January 23-25 by ONE.

Mr. Saddouq said the development of this experience in other countries is also likely to benefit Moroccan Businesses specialized in this field, and which accompanied ONE in carrying out PERG. Thanks to PERG, electrification rate jumped from 18% in 1995 to 94 currently, benefiting 28,000 villages through interconnected networks, and 3,000 others through photovoltaic kits, the Moroccan official pointed out.

The PERG is due to be terminated by end 2007, when 98% of the rural areas would have been linked to electricity.
Themed “Electrification and development” this conference aims to encourage exchange of experiences and visions in order to identify innovative solutions and new technologies in different countries. It is attended by 300 participants, including decision makers, experts, and donors from 30 countries.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_aspires_to_e/view
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Morocco to create mediation center for trade disputes.
Rabat, Jan. 22

Morocco will create a mediation center for trade disputes under an agreement signed, here Tuesday, between the Justice Ministry and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. Part of the IFC strategy to promote the institutionalization of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for the private sector, the project aims to mitigate expensive and lengthy court procedures to help extricate small and medium businesses from litigation, and to help release assets caught up in legal disputes.

IFC will finance the establishment of a pilot center, which will provide technical assistance and promote the use of mediation as an efficient means to settle trade disputes. The World Bank offshoot will support the institutionalization of mediation through a program covering the aspects of training, sensitization, the establishment of trade mediation mechanisms and the elaboration of a university curricula.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_to_create_me/view
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Over 60,000 Moroccans work in agriculture in Spain.
Madrid, Jan. 22

Some 60,904 Moroccan expatriates work in the agriculture field in Spain, thus forming at least 6.3% of the sector's active population, according to statistics released on Thursday by Spain's labor ministry. The Moroccans represent 38% of the foreign community working in this field, the source said, followed by Ecuadorians (20,692), Bolivians (3,306), Columbians (2,623) and Ukrainians (2,253).

The stats do not include the thousands of irregular Moroccans not registered in the social security system, and who are working mainly in greenhouse cultivations in Almeria and Murcia, southern Spain. Moroccans also top the number of foreign communities affiliated in the Spanish seguro with 257,340 followed by the Ecuadorians, the Columbians, the Peruvians, and the Chinese, with respectively 256,697, 141,358, 78,243 and 63,399. According to figures revealed on June 30, 2007, a total of 600,000 are legally established in Spain, that is the most numerous foreign community living in the European country.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/over_60000_moroccan/view
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2,000 Moroccan books displayed in Cairo International Book Fair.
Cairo, Jan.25

Some 2,000 Moroccan books, including 500 new ones, are displayed in the 40th Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) held from January 23 to February 4. Featured books deal with heritage, criticism, literary studies, history, poetry, and theological, linguistic and philosophical essays. The Moroccan stand also displays works translated into Arabic, notably from the Spanish, French and English languages. Organized by the General Egyptian Book Organization, the CIBF brings together some 743 editors, including 522 Egyptians, 178 Arabs and 28 other editors coming other world countries. The Egyptian Ministry of Culture has chosen this year the United Arab Emirates as the guest of honor and the Egyptian writer Soheir Al-Qalamaoui as the "cultural personality" of the fair.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_culture/2000_moroccan_books/view
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Islamic feminism in Morocco.
By Martina Sabra

Islam and feminism are not incompatible according to Moroccan doctor and writer Asma Lamrabet. In 2004, she founded a working group for women`s issues and intercultural dialogue in Rabat. The initiative has now become well known throughout the Arab world as well as in some western countries.

Lamrabet is a diplomat`s wife from a well-heeled suburb of Rabat. In theory she could simply spend her time organising garden parties, but she is not interested in the rituals of the Moroccan jet set. A qualified medic, she works in a hospital every day. When she comes home, she sits at her desk and writes books about feminism and Islam as well as organising Qur’an workshops on the subject.

The position of women is grim in all Muslim and Arab countries, Lamrabet says; a greater appreciation of women within Islam is needed. This means re-reading the texts and identifying previous interpretations for what they are: macho and patriarchal.

Such provocative statements, which can be read in more detail in her three books, have won Asma Lamrabet increasing numbers of followers: women and also men. Whether engineers, school inspectors, lawyers or students, they all share the same interest. They are dissatisfied with the dominant Islamic discourse increasingly spread by the pan-Arab media.

The main problem with the dominant Islamic discourse is that women are always reduced to some function or another, Asma Lamrabet claims; a woman is either a mother, a wife, a sister or a daughter. She is never presented as an individual, as a free, autonomous being. But the Qur’an portrays women as human beings, she says, and seeing women as human beings also means recognising their right to freedom and autonomy.

In the working group for women`s issues and intercultural dialogue, interested women and men test the Qur’an for its egalitarian potential. Asma Lamrabet believes the Islamic teachings are more sympathetic to women than generally recognised. Islam does not have a creation myth portraying women simply as appendages of men. The Islamic Adam, according to Lamrabet is simply a human being; in the Qur’an, Adam has no gender.

The group also includes lawyer Rachida Ait Himmich. She is a member of a secular left-wing party: both secular and Muslim, which for Ait Himmich is not a contradiction. She says she can live out the various sides of her identity in the group. She can be a Muslim woman and at the same time feel free; she can embrace universal ethical values as well as the human values handed down by Islam, seeing it as a case of re-reading the Qur’an.

In their group studies, Asma Lamrabet and her fellow campaigners acknowledge the traditional Islamic interpretations as well as the particular historical contexts. For her, although the Qur’an is indeed the word of God, the teachings are only ever in practice experienced within a specific social and political context. Many conservative scholars of Islamic law see such an approach as blasphemy.

Between growing religious fanaticism in the Arabic and Islamic worlds, and increasing Islamophobia in the West, Asma Lamrabet and her feminist-Muslim working group are arguing the case for a so-called "third way": a modern approach combining universal, humanistic ethics with the humanitarian ideals of Islam.

To date, this so-called "third way" has had no majority appeal in Arab and Muslim societies. The criticism comes from various directions. Conservative Muslims accuse Lamrabet and her group of lacking the necessary theological competence to interpret the sacred texts correctly.

More secularly-orientated critics claim her approach to the Qur’an is not historical and that she does not speak out strongly enough against polygamy and violence towards women.

Asma Lamrabet points to the constitution of the working group for women`s issues and intercultural dialogue, which has just become accepted as a registered association. The document is vague however, like much of what Asma Lamrabet says and writes. Her books are eloquent and passionate, but conceptually and in terms of methodology, the treatises have many weak points.

At times, they border on the kind of Islamic fundamentalist propaganda familiar from the Moroccan Islamic political activist, Nadia Yassine. Lamrabet`s treatment of her central subject, cultural identity, is based on a notion of identity now seen as antiquated in the relevant sociological debates. By clinging to a notional unambiguous Islamic identity, Asma Lamrabet is positioning herself closer to political Islam propagandists. The catchy concept of the "third way" cannot alter this.

However, the verve with which Asma Lamrabet and her fellow campaigners are fighting for a new, more humanitarian Islam is remarkable. The positive resonance amongst young Muslim women shows once more that Islamic feminism is no longer a marginal issue and this development may form the impetus for an open discourse on Islam and society.
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* Martina Sabra is a correspondent for Qantara.de. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/articledetails.php?artid=515
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