Appointment of Fatima Zahraa Al-Mansouri, the first woman to head the Moroccan government

Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s assignment of Fatima Zahraa Mansouri to form the new Moroccan government, as the first woman to lead the executive branch in the country’s history, constitutes a remarkable turning point in the Moroccan political scene.

While supporters of the step see it as the constitutional culmination of a cumulative path taken by Morocco in establishing the principles of parity and what emerged from the ballot boxes, others view the appointment with caution, placing it in the balance of the actual test: Does it constitute the beginning of a social and legislative transformation that will affect millions of women and youth, or does it remain a calculated step with symbolic dimensions?

A constitutional entitlement and a cumulative path or a “façade”?

In an exclusive statement to DW Arabia, the expert in geostrategic and security studies, Al-Sharqawi Al-Roudani, refuses to reduce this appointment to being merely a political message directed abroad as it was read in the Western media, stressing that this misses the reading of the internal political and institutional context.

Al-Roudani explained, “King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Zahraa Al-Mansouri in accordance with Article 47 of the Constitution, after the Authenticity and Modernity Party topped the legislative elections. We are facing an institutional path emanating from the ballot boxes.”

The spokesman added that Al-Mansouri, nicknamed within her party as the Iron Lady, “accumulated an experience spanning nearly two decades between the presidency of the Marrakesh municipality, parliamentary work, ministerial responsibility, and party leadership. Therefore, the question is not why Morocco chose a woman, but rather does she have the legitimacy and experience?”

For her part, the political and human rights activist, Fawzia Harchaoui, said in a statement to DW Arabia that the arrival of a woman to this position represents “an important historical event in terms of its symbolic significance for breaking the ceiling and implementing the constitutional principle of equality in political rights.”

However, she added, “The arrival of a woman to this position is not an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a new phase that is supposed to place equality at the core of public policies*, considering that efficiency and results in the coming years are the primary determinant of governance.”

On the other hand, the director of the office of the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Rabat, Anya Freudenreich, confirmed in statements to DW that the assignment has a prominent symbolic nature and will make Al-Mansouri “an inspiring role model for girls and women in Morocco and the region*.”

But Freudenreich linked this to the Kingdom's strategy of presenting a modernizing model to the world that is parallel to its major economic projects, pointing out that the mood of the street remains divided between pride in the presence of a woman at the head of the executive authority, and those who see the step as merely a promotional façade for the country's image.

The limits of constitutional powers and the weight of social issues

Regarding the margin of the Prime Minister’s actual action, Al-Sharqawi Al-Roudani confirmed in his statements to DW Arabia that Al-Mansouri’s powers “are not symbolic, but rather defined by precise constitutional texts*, citing Articles 89 and 90 of the Moroccan Constitution, which grant the government the power to exercise executive authority, run the administration, and exercise regulatory authority under the supervision of its president, as well as the Government Council’s deliberations on public policies.

Al-Rodani stressed the need to avoid two extreme readings: “portraying the prime minister as an absolute ruler, or reducing his role to a formal function*,” stressing that the real test lies in transforming these constitutional tools into field effectiveness. He added that confronting the high cost of living and unemployment requires the leadership of a cohesive parliamentary majority to pass laws and implement the government program based on Chapter 88.

Fawzia Harchaoui intersects with this vision in her statement to DW Arabia, where she called for an immediate move to address urgent economic and social priorities, foremost among which is “the integration of more than two million young men and women outside education, training, and the labor market by creating decent job opportunities and appropriate training, and encouraging young entrepreneurs and women by facilitating financing and keeping pace*.”

The spokeswoman added that work must also be done to "establish equal wages at a time when women have become breadwinners for a large number of families, and focus on improving the health and education sectors*." Al-Harchaoui stressed that the challenges presented are common and require collective action by the entire government.

Meanwhile, in her interview with DW, Anya Freudenreich ruled out a break with previous economic and social policies, suggesting that the same government coalition would be reproduced with minor modifications, which might perpetuate the existing approach without fundamentally changing the structure of decision-making or addressing structural imbalances.

Between breaking the political ceiling and improving the situation of women

Regarding the impact of this appointment on the reality of Moroccan women, political analyst Al-Sharqawi Al-Roudani for DW Arabia distinguishes between “breaking the symbolic ceiling and expanding the social elevator*,” explaining that the appointment opened the highest executive position in practice to women.

But he believes that the social impact of this requires “expanding the escalator for millions of Moroccan women through education, equal opportunities, access to the labor market, and economic responsibility, so that the symbol becomes a profound societal change*.”

Regarding its popularity among young people, Al-Rodani pointed out that Al-Mansouri has a multi-level experience that qualifies her to connect the state and the citizen, but the new generation “is not waiting for speeches, but rather for tangible results in social justice, purchasing power, and services*.”

For her part, Fawzia Al-Harchaoui explained to DW Arabia that Al-Mansouri is similar to other women who entered politics according to their partisan convictions, noting the presence of other activists and activists in the scene who sometimes enjoy a greater presence and following among young and women's groups.

Harchaoui stressed that the popularity of the government and its president will remain hostage to her ability to respond to the aspirations of a generation demanding radical reforms in decent living and the development of basic services.

For his part, Ahmed Ben Shamsi, Director of Communication and Advocacy in the Middle East and North Africa Department at Human Rights Watch*, explained to DW that the organization does not comment on political appointments, but he pointed out that the royal institution has historically supported the path of women's rights, highlighting that the adoption of the Family Code in 2004 was a step that improved divorce rights.

However, Benchemsi considered that these reforms “did not go far enough,” citing inheritance laws that still discriminate in favor of men.

In this legislative context, Anya Freudenreich, in her statement to DW, draws attention to the paradox of the absence of the issue of reforming the “Family Code” from the electoral program of the Mansouri Party, despite his modernizing rhetoric and his confinement to minor promises to increase women’s economic activity, considering that the Code remains the real test for any change that affects the daily livelihood of all Moroccan women.