Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 30, 2009

Race for local seats set to start Saturday in Morocco
By Nadia El Hachimi Rabat

The electoral campaign for the local elections, due next June 12, will be launched on Saturday, May 30 with 30 parties vying for 27,795 seats in 1,503 urban and rural councils across the north African Kingdom. The race to the seats will end before midnight on the night of balloting.

With the new double digit quota of 12%, women candidates will compete for more than 3,300 seats in the 2009 polls, after holding a little more than a half-percent of the country's local political positions in 2003. The quota system, as provided in the law provisions regulating the elections, shows Morocco's resolve to dramatically increase the representation of women in elected councils by the means of serious incentives. In fact, no less than 10 million Dirhams (1.14 million U.S. Dollars) were allocated for setting up a Fund for Support to the Promotion of the Political Representation of Women.

The fund, governed by a central committee, including representatives of political parties, of the government and of the civil society, is meant to increase women's awareness of and participation in the political action and local management. A system of financial incentives to strengthen women's representation was also launched. Under the banner of these measures, the funds allocated to political parties, on the basis of the number of seats won in the ordinary electoral districts, will be five times higher for female elects than for male ones.

Keen on guaranteeing polls' transparency and fairness, Interior Minister, Chakib Benmoussa has recently said that a series of preventive and repressive measures will be applied to “help dealing firmly with any manoeuvre and actions seeking to undermine the electoral process." He affirmed that the government will fight with the necessary firmness against any attempt to use the resources of the State, of local authorities and public institutions for electoral purposes. He stressed that the government will work to moralize the upcoming elections and to apply the laws rigorously against any attempt to mar the electoral process.

The Moroccan government had launched on January 5 a seven-week campaign to update voter electoral rolls. Some 1.64 million new voters were registered in the lists under this operation while 3,630,886 persons were disenfranchised. Necessary measures have been taken to mobilize both voters and parties through holding ballotter-friendly awareness campaigns in media outlets, and providing the running parties with all means, including media and TV timeslots, to defend and explain their agendas for "the council of the future”.

In this race, political parties will face the double challenge of mobilizing the 13,360,219 voters expected to cast their ballots and of selecting an elite of managers to handle the new tasks of development, a duty that now falls on locally elected officials
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box5/race_for_local_seats/view
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WB loans Morocco €100mln to develop household waste management.
Rabat

The World Bank (WB) has granted Morocco a loan of 100 million Euros (140 US dollars) as part of its programme to support the development of the household waste management in the kingdom. The loan is designed to support the 2008-2012 phase of the ten-year solid waste reform, known as the national programme of the household waste management (PNDM). The PNDM will require 37 billion Moroccan dirhams (4.6 US dollars) and will be supported by the World Bank in its different phases, Moroccan Finance Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar said. It aims at fighting uncontrolled dumps and replace them with controlled ones and widen the scope of access to collection services, according to water and sanitation director at the Interior Ministry, governor Mohamed Dinia.

The WB Household Waste Development Policy Loan supports the sector governance through legal, regulatory and institutional measures, the sustainability of municipal waste management services, and the mainstreaming of social and environmental considerations. The Moroccan government has adopted an aggressive policy in handling social and economic costs relating to solid waste, head of the World Bank office in Morocco, Françoise Clottes, said. The signing ceremony took place on Friday under the chairmanship of the ministers of the Interior and of Finance, Chakib Benmoussa and Salaheddine Mezouar, respectively.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box1/wb_loans_morocco_10/view
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Morocco: WB gives $133m to manage waste.
Wednesday 20 May 2009  Merieme Addou, AfricaNews reporter in Rabat, Morocco

The World Bank has granted Morocco a loan of $132.7 million to manage solid waste in the country's localities. The funding will back solid waste strategic planning and enhance the performance of the country's municipal solid waste sector.

The program aims to support the Moroccan vision for governance, creating opportunity for the private sector and at the same time sustainable management of natural resources.

The loan is also designed to improve transparency, competitiveness, and accountability for sustainable and cost-effective private sector participation. The plan also includes a strong public communication program.

In 2006, Morocco enacted its first law on solid waste management establishing the principles that will govern the management of the sector.

The new Moroccan policy highlights social and environmental aspects as key features of the solid waste sector reform and aims to support solid waste strategic planning and improve the economic, environment and social performances of the municipal solid waste sector.

Morocco is already facing a shortage of natural resources; water in particular. Poor solid waste management threatens to contaminate remaining supplies of fresh drinking water, pollute surrounding areas of land, and contribute to the spread of disease —all of which infringe on development.

The World Bank estimates that the impact of poor solid waste management on the environment is 0.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product —one of the highest in the Middle East and Africa. The population is growing at 2.85 percent and per capita consumption is also increasing, leading to an inevitable exacerbation of the situation if swift and effective action is not taken.

Morocco will be investing some EUR 3.7 billion in modern waste management over the next 15 years. Illegal dumping is to disappear entirely within ten years, to be replaced with new waste disposal facilities that meet European environmental and safety standards. In two years at the latest, these will provide permanent disposal for some 40 percent of municipal waste.

http://www.africanews.com/site/Morocco_WB_gives_133m_to_manage_waste/list_messages/24961
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Adherence of all requisite for success of environmental policy, PM.
Rabat

The success of an environmental policy depends on the adherence of all concerned operators as part of a participative action and a global mobilization, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, said here Monday. The government has adopted an environmental strategy to implement programs and projects within the framework of a proximity policy to meet the needs of citizens, El Fassi said at the opening of the 6th session of the National Council of Environment (CNE).

Recalling that the environment remains a major concern of the government, particularly to put in motion an integrated development, the Premier stressed that the partnership agreements, concluded on April 14 between the government and the regions under King Mohammed VI's chairmanship in the field of water and environment, reflect the government's commitment to adopt an environmental policy of proximity.

This policy, he explained, aims at developing, in partnership and collaboration with all stakeholders, regional and local projects on sewage treatment, management of solid waste, as well as the setting up of regional observatories for the environment and sustainable development.

El Fassi also recalled the efforts of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, which took several initiatives to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. The environmental strategy aims to raise challenges related to protecting the environment and improving citizens’ quality of life, while taking into account the imperatives of economic development.

The strategy revolves around several aspects, including the monitoring of environmental conditions in the various regions so as to provide accurate and reliable environmental data to protect natural resources and ecosystems of the country, and address climate changes.

Speaking at the opening session, Secretary of State for Water and the Environment, Abdelkebir Zahoud, said the degradation of the environment costs more than 13 billion dirhams (1.5 billion dollars) annually, i.e. 3.7% of GDP, while the cost of preserving the environment is estimated at 1, 8% of GDP. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/adherence_of_all_req/view
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Moroccan groups target teen tobacco, drug use.
2009-05-29 Sarah Touahri

Moroccan non-governmental organisations have come together to address the issue of tobacco and drug addiction among young people. Still, no progress can be made unless families play their part in the lives of their children. Civil society in Morocco is working to battle tobacco and drug addiction among young people. With the help of non-governmental organisations, many teenagers have managed to kick their habits.

Eighteen-year-old Salim is one of them. His teacher got him back on the straight and narrow by helping him beat his problem with drugs, and now he tells his story to other young people to discourage them from starting the dangerous behaviour. "A friend offered me my first cigarette and I soon got hooked. When I realised my parents didn't know what I was doing, I carried on until one day a teacher who was a member of an organisation saved me by giving me advice and support for several weeks," he said.

He is not the only young person to speak publicly about his bad experience. Other youngsters, including girls, have told their friends and teachers of their misadventures and the role civil society campaigners had in helping them. A member of Moroccan Association for Listening and Dialogue, Amina Baaji, a teacher, has helped several secondary-school pupils over the years put their difficulties behind them. "Families must look after their children and try to understand them so that they will not become addicted to tobacco or drugs," she explained. "Failure to listen and understand is the main reason young people are led astray and fall by the wayside."

Another teacher, Jamal Bahaoui, agreed. If young people are to be shielded from tobacco and drugs, families and schools must be vigilant and try to understand the needs and fears of teenagers, he added. Teachers must spend more time listening to their pupils so that they can give them guidance and help them deal with their psychological problems, he suggested.

Marital problems between her parents spurred Samira, a secondary-school student, to start smoking and take drugs when she was thirteen. "My mother took no notice of me. She gave me money to get rid of me. As for my dad, he only came home in the evening and always started arguments. I easily found refuge in drugs."

"The best way of getting the message across is not giving advice, but rather taking a participatory approach based on the involvement of young people themselves," argued Jalal Tawfik, a psychiatrist. He encourages all young people who have overcome addiction to tobacco or drugs to act as an example to others.

Parents and teachers stress the importance of tackling cigarette smoking, as it can often serve as a stepping-stone to drug addiction.

A three-week awareness campaign was launched on May 15th by the Lalla Salma Cancer Association. The campaign aims to "make people sit up and take notice, raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco and change behaviour so that people don't start smoking." The World Health Organisation's World No Tobacco Day is May 31st. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/05/29/feature-02
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It's time for additional reforms . 
by Hakima Fassi-Fihri Rabat

Morocco was praised for significant progress in the field of women's rights, particularly for revising its 1958 family code – the "Moudawana". This reform was the result of many years of work between academics, theologians, activists and legal experts.

Five years later, it's time to assess whether this praise was warranted. The 2004 reform was made in a spirit of equity between men and women within the family unit, with the aim of protecting children's interests while respecting the balance between tradition and modernity in a country that is highly attached to its family-based identity. For example, a young Moroccan woman can now marry freely without permission from her father. The family is also considered the joint responsibility of both spouses and not solely the husband's as before.

Additionally, polygamy – which was a husband's absolute right under the previous code – became subject to the judge's approval and, above all, is allowable only under strict legal conditions which make the practice almost impossible. The growth in the number of female family judges, along with a clear rejuvenation of the magistracy, are also part of the noteworthy changes resulting from the 2004 reform.

However, additional change is still needed. Indeed, if at its early stages the Moudawana had a dissuasive effect on polygamy and marriage involving minors, people quickly realised that it was not difficult to get dispensations from judges.

In fact, although the new code stipulates that the legal age for marriage is 18, today in Morocco 10 percent of marriages involve minors. There was a dramatic increase (over 50 percent between 2006 and 2007) in marriages involving youth, especially in rural areas.

In addition to the necessity to properly enforce 2004 reforms, notably by training judges to declare verdicts in line with the new laws, new reforms are still needed to close the gap in gender equity. For example, when it comes to inheritance and succession, it is neither sensible nor appropriate in cases of female heirs to force them to share their portion with an uncle or male cousin. Morocco would benefit from intensifying the debate, perhaps with a view to a new Moudawana reform.
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Imagining a reversal of gender rolesc
by Zakia Tahir Casablanca, Morocco

Five years after the 2004 family code reform, Moroccans are still debating the identity of the Moroccan family. "Nawal", a young Moroccan woman, is proud of these reforms. For her, like for many Moroccan women, it is a victory. But other Moroccan women, such as "Ilham", do not understand much about it. And "Najat" is opposed to it because she has been told it does not comply with God's will. Female opinion is divided.

"Rachid", a young Moroccan male, refuses to get married because he's heard that in the event of divorce he would have to divide his assets with his wife. And the "Mustafas" of Morocco feel they've lost their dignity since the family is now under the shared responsibility of both husband and wife.

These diverse opinions are reflected in the 2008 film, Number One, so named because its main character is a male manager – or the "Number One" – of a clothing factory operated by 50 female workers. The Moudawana is a recurring theme throughout the film, which portrays the discussion of gender equality in Morocco in a new light.

Thousands of women watched this film: among them, women who, for lack of means or interest, had never been to the cinema before. They came because other women told them that it was about them, about their everyday lives.

Many women identified with the situations pictured in the film. They recognised their husbands, their cousins, their bosses. Men's perspectives too were shattered. One man told me after watching: "I realised I was a male chauvinist too when I saw the film." Another said, "I want my daughters to see this film so that they will never accept what they think is their fate."

Five years after the Moudawana, Number One is using humour and entertainment to open discussions and challenge traditional views of male and female roles in Moroccan society.

Zakia Tahiri writes and directs films with her husband, Ahmed Bouchaala. Hakima Fassi-Fihri is a research professor of business contract law in Rabat and an active member of the women's networks, Women's Tribune and Terrafemina. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint/64-author/491-perspectives-moroccos-family-code-5-years-later
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Child marriage in Morocco criticised.
2009-05-05 By Sarah Touahri

Moroccan women's rights organisations call for action to be taken against child marriage. Moroccan associations and human rights organisations want the practice of child marriage to stop. Campaigners from various associations recently criticised the way the Moudawana (Family Code), which was intended to limit child marriages, has been applied.

The legal minimum age for marriage in Morocco is 18 years, although family judges are empowered to allow exceptions. This loophole has enabled thousands of families to marry off their daughters prematurely. According to figures from the justice ministry, over 31,000 under-age girls were married in 2008, compared with 29,847 in 2007.

Fouzia Assouli, chair of the Democratic League of Women's Rights, stressed that reform of the family code must take place now to restrict and clearly define the judges' powers regarding child marriage. "Five years after the new family code was passed, Moroccans have certainly grasped the great importance of women's rights, but we're still lagging behind society's expectations," she said.

Samira Boufaracha, who belongs to the association Together for Women's Development, stated that the basis upon which exemptions are granted by judges is often unclear. "Almost every request is granted, which just encourages families to continue this practice, even though when the Moudawana first came in, we thought things would change."

The Moroccan Women's Democratic Association's legal chair Saïda Amrani Idrissi said that the law gives judges tremendous room for manoeuvre. The justice minister says that judges are not automatically granting permission for child marriages, citing the 7% of requests that are rejected. "The fact that some requests are rejected proves that approval is not a foregone conclusion. Requests are granted according to the particular social situation of the girls concerned," stated Justice Minister Abdelwahed Radi.

Jamal Badaoui, a sociologist, explained to Magharebia that it is proving difficult to change Moroccan attitudes overnight, particularly in rural areas. "Mindsets are much harder to change than laws. Parents living in the midst of poverty and illiteracy continue to believe that girls must be married off as soon as possible. They can't imagine a future outside marriage."

He added that things would not change unless there are targeted public awareness campaigns to explain the harm caused by early marriage and to stress the importance of learning in girls' lives, both in urban and country areas. "An improvement in families' economic circumstances will also help to limit the phenomenon. In fact, there is a series of causes on which the authorities and civil society must take action to change the situation." http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/05/05/feature-01
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Over 315k Bac students will sit for exam next week.
Rabat

Some 315,718 students will sit for the Baccalaureate exams this year, which is a 4.77% increase compared to the previous year, the Ministry of National Education announced. Female students represent 48.94% of the overall Baccalaureate test takers (154,521), said a statement of the ministry. The regular session of the exam will take place on June 2-4, while the catching-up session is slated for July 2-4. According to the same source, the candidates who study in the Moroccan public institutions number 242,634 (5% compared to 2008), those in the private schools stand at 13,733 (40 % increase compared to 2008), while more than 59,300 are private candidates (over 18% of all candidates).
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/over_315k_bac_studen/view
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Rural electrification rate reaches 96% up to March.
Rabat

Moroccan Energy Minister announced, Tuesday, that the rate of rural electrification in Morocco reached 96% up to late March 2009, as against 19% in 1995. Amina Benkhadra said that the rural electrification programme (known by its French acronym PERG), has, since its launch in 1996, benefited 1.88 million people. She indicated that the programme required 17 billion Moroccan dirhams (2.1 billion US dollars), adding that 119 houses will be programmed as part of the last phase of this programme.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/rural_electrificatio_1/view
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Poverty rate in Morocco's rural areas is 15% according to WB, says HCP.
Rabat

In its latest report on food security in the Arab countries, the World Bank (WB) has cited figures released by Morocco's High Planning Commission on the rate of poverty in Morocco, which put the rate in rural areas at 15%, High Commissioner for planning said. The figures published on the basis of the 2007 survey on the household standard of living suggest that the rate of poverty in Morocco is 9% at national level, 15% in rural areas and 5% in urban areas, Ahmed Lahlimi told MAP. They also show that 68% of the needy live in Morocco's rural areas, which by no account means that the rate of poverty in rural areas is 68%, he said. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/poverty_rate_in_moro/view
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Rural children more exposed to deprivations than urbans, study.
Kenitra

Children living in rural areas are more exposed to deprivations than those living in the cities, a study on the impact of poverty and disparities on children revealed on Tuesday. According to the primary findings of the study, which was conducted by the Moroccan Observatory of Children Rights (ONDE), 66% of rural children suffer from “at least one deprivation” against only 13% in urban areas.

The results were presented in the first national forum on social policies and children rights, organised on Monday in the town of Kenitra (40 km north of Rabat) by ONDE and the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, under the presidency of Princess Lalla Meriem. They revealed that 38% of children under 18 face at least one deprivation when it comes the five criteria adopted by the study, namely housing, sanitation, water, information, and teaching.

The children most exposed to deprivation are those belonging to families made up of 2 to 5 or more members, where the leader of the household has only a primary education level. 17% of rural children suffer from at least two deprivations, a rate in which girls are 6% ahead of boys, the study added. ONDE expects such a study to present an analysis of the different aspects of poverty and the social disparities and to define the policies to counter these phenomena in favour of vulnerable children.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/rural_children_more/view
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Ten anti-AIDS NGOs to benefit from MAD 2.6 support fund.
Casablanca

The nation-wide anti-AIDS NGO (Association de Lutte Contre le SIDA - ALCS) said it has set up a 2.62 million dirham fund to support ten associations and institutions operating in the fight against AIDS in the north African country. The NGOs and institutions had taken part in the "Morocco Sidaction" fundraising campaign in 2008, which helped collect about 1 million dollars.

The support fund aims at strengthening the fight against AIDS in Morocco. The funding agreements were signed on Monday by ALCS president, Hakima Himmiche, and the representatives of the 10 beneficiary NGOs. ALCS allocates one third of the funds collected in the framework of Sidaction campaign to finance research and projects by the partner-associations, on the basis of clearly-defined agreements. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/ten_anti-aids_ngos_t/view
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Strengthening Decentralization in Morocco.
Mon, 25 May 2009 /Mohammad el-Ashab

Granting greater importance to municipal elections in Morocco reflects a noteworthy change in the country’s democratic experiment. At the very least, it reflects a shift from the struggle of political positions, distributed left, right and center, to adopting a realistic policy in dealing with the difficulties of development.

Late King Hassan II was once asked what he would choose if he were to run for elections. He answered by saying he would prefer to be the head of a municipality or the mayor of a city. When he would visit France, he would always be very keen on praising the experience of his French friend Jacques Chirac, who was Mayor of Paris before he became President of the Republic. Evidently, the political partners in Morocco have, after quite some time, realized that good governance requires coming closer to reality, and that the real measure for choosing programs and intentions lies in handling local affairs that have a direct link to the lives of citizens, their needs, problems and aspirations.

It was only natural, after the experience of political alternation, which brought the main political parties of the former opposition to the forefront of government, for other kinds of dilemmas to arise. The phenomenon of abstention since the 1997 elections only reflected the frustration felt towards the obstacles to reaping the fruits of this political transformation. The experiment almost passed, with the demands for constitutional reform which should accompany the development of society, yet it did not give rise to high degrees of dealing with economic and social difficulties, which start from the area of influence on the field of the largest or smallest municipality in the cities and countryside.

Although constitutional reforms have fulfilled their role – or nearly so, the reforms that seek to alleviate the burden of social problems, such as poverty, unemployment, marginalization and the lack of infrastructure, have been marking time. Yet the country is still in dire need of development plans that would lay the foundations for the notion of useful Morocco and useless Morocco, especially that the axis that has attracted the greater part of the wagers on development was focused on the region of the Atlantic coastline, between Kenitra, Rabat and Casablanca. On the other hand, it seemed that achieving progress in the Northern and Eastern provinces would require much greater effort towards equal opportunities, benefits and options.

When the state agreed to shift many of its non-strategic powers to municipalities and other authorities, it was clearly in the process of establishing a decentralized system that would help narrow the tremendous gap between social classes and administrative authorities. However, ensuring smooth and secure management of local affairs requires elites and cadres, as well as the possibility of turning communal management into a political instrument and an economic and social means to improve the situation of the cities and countryside.

To the same extent as the political and legal debate that arose over the municipal elections – scheduled on the 12th of next month (June) – seems encouraging and prompting optimism towards supporting the decentralization system, it has been tarnished by blunders with political backgrounds that bring the conflict of political authorities back to the forefront.

Beyond the disputes that have arisen over who has the right to run as candidate and who should be banned from doing so – having changed their political affiliations in order to obtain seats in municipalities and as mayors of cities, those who view things through political goggles outnumber those who open their eyes to reality. The ongoing struggle between numerous positions in the circles of political parties, within the administration and between the folds of the influence of money and pressure lobbies, only means that the experiment is still at its beginning. Nevertheless, the results that will be strengthened by the coming elections need to ponder the kinds of alliances that are expected.

It is noteworthy that the formation of municipal councils requires a greater extent of consensus and alliances, even between conflicting movements. The problem is that all of the parties are competing in the absence of an alliance they will necessarily be forced into. It is the difference between the politics of reality and political realism.
http://www.daralhayat.com/portalarticlendah/20408
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Acheulian human remains found in Morocco
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-26 07:04:29 RABAT, May 25 (Xinhua)

A Moroccan-French archaeology team has discovered the rear part of a human mandible that dates back to the prehistoric Acheulian phase, local MAP news agency reported on Monday. The mandible, which belongs to a young human, holds a premolar and a molar, the report said. The fossil was uncovered on May 14 in the Thomas I quarry site in Casablanca, along with stone tools "that characterize the Acheulian civilization" and remnants of gazelles, antelopes, warthogs, bears, monkeys, said the report.

A French-Moroccan team last year, uncovered a complete mandible of Homo erectus at the Thomas I quarry. The mandible was found in a layer below one where the team had previously found four human teeth (three premolars and one incisor) from Homo erectus, one of which was dated to 500,000 B.C.

Professional excavations in the site started in 1988 as part of the "Casablanca Program" of the local Institute of Archaeology Sciences and Heritage, in coordination with France's archaeology mission in the Moroccan coasts. The team that made this month's discovery was co-led by Moroccan and French scientists Fatima Zohra Sbihi Alaoui and Jean-Paul Raynal, said the report.

Thomas I site, where a Homo erectus half-jaw had been found by accident in 1969, confirms its role as one of the key archaeology sites for understanding the early population of Northwest Africa
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/26/content_11434511.htm
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In Morocco, Muslim Women Trained as Islamic Spiritual Leaders (Washn).
5/29/2009, Robin ShulmanThe Associated Press (AP) — WASHINGTON

Not long ago in the Moroccan city of Rabat, Nezha Nassi met an 18-year-old girl in prison on drug charges. The girl was afraid to leave prison because her parents said she was no longer welcome at home. For months, Nassi counseled the girl, who seemed to bloom slowly and build an idea of the life she wanted. Nassi visited the girl's mother to persuade her to take her back, saying the girl would be worse off in the streets and that she had worked to give up her addiction. Nassi told the mother she had the girl's promise.

In Morocco, Nassi's word means something. That's because Nassi is a murshida, or guide, a female religious counselor recently trained by the country's Ministry of Religious Affairs to teach Islam and offer counseling in mosques, prisons, schools and hospitals-even to make house calls to work through the most intimate family problems. Nassi is one of about 250 murshidas trained to occupy the same role as male imams, in every sense but leading prayer.

"This is spiritual, moral and physical counseling," said Nassi, whose soft face makes her look a decade younger than her 42 years, but who projects authority. She recently visited Washington and New York with two other murshidas to meet with State Department officials and women religious leaders of various faiths in a trip sponsored by the Moroccan American Cultural Center. The State Department, in its annual report to Congress on counterterrorism issued in April, hailed the murshida program as a "pioneering" effort in Morocco's broad approach to spread tolerant practices of Islam.

The program began in 2006 in response to suicide bombers and other terrorist acts that wreaked havoc in the country. The thinking was that training murshidas would expand the number of government-trained emissaries to combat the appeal of violent interpretations of Islam.

At the same time, King Mohammed VI had pushed for reform in family law, giving women more rights in divorce and property, and the right to approve a husband's request to take additional wives. Seeking to be progressive on women's issues while avoiding alienating conservative Muslims, the government fostered the murshida program as a way to bring the new laws directly into homes and give them a religious imprimatur.

The program is part of a worldwide movement to elevate the status of Muslim women scholars and leaders, said Daisy Khan, the New York-based founder of Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity. "There's a rising consciousness that we need to organize and institutionalize ourselves as sisters of other faiths have done before us," she said.

In most of the Muslim world, while women have served as informal spiritual leaders, official positions of religious power have been the preserve of men. But now in Turkey, hundreds of women preachers, known as vaizes, are working in state-run mosques, and women have also been appointed to lead Turks making the pilgrimage to Mecca. In Egypt, Al-Azhar University has approved the printing and distribution of the first Koranic interpretation written by a woman. From India to Syria, women are becoming muftis, authorized to issue fatwas, or religious decisions.

Morocco, a country of 34 million people, is poor, with double-digit unemployment in urban shantytowns and isolated rural villages. Young people are vulnerable to alcohol abuse, drugs, sniffing glue-and religious extremism, the murshidas said.

The women spend much of their time at the mosque, giving lectures to women, taking questions and offering counseling on personal problems. They also often visit hospitals and prisons. Sometimes they appear on television and radio programs and take calls from listeners.

People want to talk about marital problems, AIDS, cancer, rape, teen pregnancy. They come to them in crisis: The woman with cancer who had lost the will to live and wanted to quit treatment. The boy who had a fight with his father and ran away to a blacksmith shop where he found work.

Prerequisites for admission to the murshida program include an honors bachelor's degree and memorization of at least half of the Koran. The 45-week training includes courses in psychology, law, history, communication and religion-the same coursework an imam goes through.

"I always dreamed of being a leader," Nassi said. She received her B.A. in Islamic studies from Mohammed V University in Rabat, then worked as an artist and volunteered in her local mosque. She was part of the first class of murshidas to graduate in 2006. She often becomes close to those she counsels, including the drug user who had been cast out of her parents' house. She is proud of the impact she has had on her life. "After she was released, she went home," Nassi said.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-7/1243617547290360.xml&storylist=national
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OBG highlights Morocco's tourism development strategy.
London

The Oxford Business Group (OBG), a London-based think-tank, highlighted Monday Morocco's tourism development strategy. "Morocco has a long-term tourism development strategy," said the group in a report titled "Adjusting for Growth", adding that Morocco has recently highlighted its flexibility by introducing a new programme to supplement "Vision 2010".

The 10-year plan has been largely successful, but given that it is nearing its conclusion, the government has launched "Cap 2009" to retool the sector's objectives and pump cash into the market in preparation for the upcoming launch of Vision 2020.

Taken together, the two plans aim to boost arrival numbers, upgrade infrastructure and increase the quality of human resources, OBG explained, noting that the number of tourists rose 69% between 2001 and 2007, and another 7% from 2007 to 2008, bringing the total arrivals to around 7.9 million.

Hotel construction has been keeping pace with the increases and total bed capacity has already increased more than 47% since the start of the plan, said the think-tank, adding that given that tourism attracts more investment and contributes around 6% to the GDP annually, the government is taking proactive measures to ensure that this momentum continues, even during the downturn.

With tourist receipts decreasing 3.5%, from 58.67 billion Dirhams (7.1 billion U.S. Dollars) in 2007 to 56.59 billion dirhams in 2008, Cap 2009 will seek to use internet marketing to expand the arrivals base beyond the traditional European markets, the report said. It added that the programme will receive a budget increase of 10% in 2009 to facilitate the entry into new markets, particularly Eastern Europe, Russia, the Gulf and China.

Domestically, Cap identifies Marrakech, Fez, Casablanca and Agadir as priority regions which is consistent with the north African Kingdom's promotion of high-end cultural and beach tourism, stressed the group, noting that efforts to target these areas are already included in Vision 2010.

The component Plan Azur, Plan Biladi and Plan Madain are aiming to develop resorts, bolster domestic tourism and showcase the country's cultural destinations, the group added, explaining that Plan Azur is expected to be the linchpin of the three, as Morocco looks to capture some of the lucrative regional resort market.

The plan outlines six new integrated resorts that will require investment of 45 billion dirhams and will result in the creation of 110,000 beds and 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, said the group.

Adding infrastructure is the primary goal of Vision 2010, while Vision 2020 expected to focus on human resources and build upon the expanded offerings, it added, noting that when the government launches the programme next year, it will be geared towards bringing service quality up to the standard that many international consumers expect.

Vision 2020 will also take into consideration requirements for sustainable and responsible tourism, as well as the protection of natural and cultural resources, it explained.

To accommodate the continued rise in arrivals, Morocco is working to upgrade its airports. The objective is to reach a capacity of 32 million passengers by 2012, with current capacity at 23 million, OBG quoted CEO of the Moroccan National Airports Authority (Office National Des Aéroports, ONDA), Abdelhanine Benallou as saying.

The group recalled that in mid-April, the African Development Bank granted Morocco a loan of 240 million Euros to enhance facilities at the Casablanca, Fez, Agadir, Marrakech and Rabat airports, which handle the bulk of the country's air traffic.

The loan will cover about 75% of the 3.37 billion dirhams project, with the ODNA covering the remainder of the cost. ONDA is also working with the Moroccan National Tourism Office to reduce bureaucracy, and has announced adjustments to airport taxes on chartered flights.

The government's willingness to make adjustments across the tourism sector underlines the country's adaptability, particularly during these difficult times, said the group.

Cap 2009 will expand Morocco's presence in emerging markets, which should help make up for a decline in arrivals from Western Europe, it added, concluding that targeted internet marketing and increased bed capacity will develop a solid foundation that will help temper the effects of the recession in the short term, and provide the necessary framework for future growth under Vision 2020.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/obg_highlights_moroc/view
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A trip to the light fantastic in Morocco.
By JOHN WHITE - Thursday, April 30, 2009

I'm beginning to really dislike Steve Davey. Not because the renowned travel photojournalist isn't a nice chap – he really is – but he has this awful habit of making me keep the strangest of hours. He's the reason why, after what seemed like an extremely late night, I'm dragging myself from my cosy bed at 5am with only a few hours' kip to keep me going.

Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I pull on some clothes and make my way to the roof of our riad, cursing as I stub my toe on the last step before the cool morning air hits my face. The reason for our rude awakening soon becomes clear: our surrounds are bathed in a soothing orange glow as first light creeps over the peaks and our cameras click away as dawn breaks over the kasbah.

I'm in Morocco's Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, a clay fortified village about five hours' drive from Marrakech, on a special photography tour with Davey. ………….

More here:
http://www.metro.co.uk/travel/article.html?A_trip_to_the_light_fantastic_in_Morocco&in_article_id=642720&in_page_id= ##########################################################

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