HENAN HARIT

Morocco- She began her career as a football player, and then she played football for the women’s municipal team in the city of El Ayoun of Morocco. She liked playing football and she wanted to participate in politics. Rabab Ailal, a member of the Istiqlal (Independence) Party since 2007, won a parliamentary seat in the general elections held in Morocco on September 8. Before being elected, she was an active member of her party’s youth, scouting, and women organizations. She has struggled for women’s rights for years. We spoke to her about her career in football and what she will do in politics.

She will focus on women’s participation in sports

Rabab Ailal has many projects to solve problems faced by the whole society such as in the fields of health, work, and education, “I will focus on women’s participation in sports because women face many challenges when they want to do sports. I will improve women’s situation in sports in five years in El Ayoun. Women want to gain more achievements and to participate in all decision-making positions.”

“I will use my rights to defend women”

Women have faced many challenges, Rabab Ailal said, “As politicians, we have struggled to eliminate all challenges faced by women. Women living in rural areas and villages need support to overcome problems. The problems faced by them should be solved. Women have also faced economic, political, and social problems. I will use all my rights to defend them.”

“Moroccan women make progress in gender equality”

“We are aware that there are inadequacies in every law and that people have faced challenges to using their rights. But Moroccan women make progress in gender equality; the 2004 Family Law secures important rights for Moroccan women and the 2011 Constitution guarantees equal protection and laws for both men and women.  There are some gaps in the Family Law. For Instance, the Violence Against Women Law passed by Moroccan Parliament in 2018 should be amended,” Rabab Ailal told NuJINHA.

“We need more women in the parliament”

Emphasizing that there are still obstacles for women to enter the parliament, Rabab Ailal said that women have faced many difficulties when they want to run for elections, “Sometimes, they face economic problems, sometimes their tribes don’t allow them. There are 90 female MPs in the parliament now but this number is very low, we need more women in the parliament.”