People with disabilities in Morocco face workplace exclusion, due to their social representation in the country and low visibility including, lack of opportunity, and low-paid jobs in the labor market.
Morocco has adopted a definition to determine who is considered as disabled in society which aligns with the United Nations Convention on Disability, but the reality of this defintion is much more complex.
This definition includes physical, visual, auditory, psychological, mental, and disabling illnesses. However, in Morocco, the nature of how disability is defined still leads to confusion, as many view disability as something that is clearly visible, for example someone in a wheelchair, neglecting less obvious disabilities, such as mental illnesses or dehabilitating health conditions. x
Morocco World News interviewed , Head of the Italian ONG La Nostra Famiglia in Morocco (OVCI) Alessandra Braghini, and Doctor and Consultant to OVCI in Morocco Hassane Benkhlafa.
Braghini and Benkhlafa explained how the general publics view is a both “a problem and the solution of social participation… In our experience with families, there is an underestimation of the abilities of children and young people with disabilities.” They continued, “There is a tendency to do everything for them and overprotect them.”
According to data collected by the 2014 National Survey on Disability (ENH), the number of people with disabilities in Morocco stands at over 2.2 million (with a prevalence of 6.8%), including 599,472 young people under 15 years old.
The unemployment rate among people with disabilities is 67.75% on average, which is six times the national average. Only 10.6% of people with disabilities state that they are familiar with the rights granted to them by legislation.
The data indicates the lack of a recent survey on the professional integration of people with disabilities by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) it also reflects that there is less importance given to the issue of employment and disability at a national level.
Legal framework
Since the 1980s, Morocco has engaged in a legal process for people with disabilities (PWDs), which includes the right to employment, education, training, and accessibility. Morocco ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in April 2019. In addition, the Moroccan Constitution and law 97-13 recognize the employment of a PWD as their right.
This law highlights the importance of implementing a 7% employment quota for PWDs in the public sector.
In October 2018, a visually impaired protester fell from the roof of a government department as part of a sit-in. The fatal fall immediately led to the decision to hold the first competitive examination for PWDs in December 2018.
In 2007, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Employment began advocacy action that led to the promulgation of establishing a 5% quota for the private sector. However, this quota has been withdrawn in favor of an eventual contractual framework determining the percentage of PWD’s a company should hire. In the absence of a quota, there is currently no “obligation criteria” for the employment of PWDs in companies in Morocco.
Braghini and Benkhlafa told MWN, “We cannot pretend to compensate as an associative actor for a regulatory deficiency in the field of public policy.”
They quoted the report of the Economic and Social Council of 2012, which states, “There is no doubt that in the absence of laws, coercive or incentive, accompanied by decrees and enforceable standards, the environment will remain a factor of exclusion and discrimination of people with disabilities.”
Government and civil society action
Over the years, successive governments have put in place a range of projects and programs, including the 2017-2021 national action plan. This program aims to promote employment for PWDs in the private sector by setting up financing, improving employability in the craft industry, empowering women with disabilities, and developing institutional partnerships.
Whereas, in the public sector the program aims to improve the working conditions of people with disabilities and to build the capacities of civil servants with disabilities.
However, these initiatives have generally been undertaken in the short term, and as such are not always renewed. The presence of these various mechanisms, programs, and approaches lead to difficulties in coordination or overlapping between programs.
Civil society actors have a crucial role to play in the integration of PWDs in the work environment, they are well-positioned to encourage equal opportunities in the labor market due to their engagement in equality, solidarity, and social justice.
NGOs such as Act Make Hope Group (AMH), OVCI La Nostra Famiglia, Handicap International Maroc, and Association Anais work on training for supported and competitive employment, supported living, and soft skills.
For 30 years, the AMH (previously Amicale Marocaine des Handicapes), has been the most active and well-known association in Morocco advocating for the rights of PWDs.
In 2020, AMH created “HandiPro,” a recruitment platform for PWD’s in Morocco. The association also links education and vocational training closely, for example, in March 2022, AMH organized the course and graduation ceremony for two caregiver training classes.
Gender representation also calls for consideration, as it is needed for effective employment and disability projects. Handicap International, therefore, thought of a multi-country project to promote the integration of people with disabilities and women in vulnerable situations.
In Morocco, this program has already been the subject of two working sessions on “duty of care, respect for human rights, and the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace.”
In the same way, OVCI follows this dynamic through the “Youth as a Lever for Inclusive Development in Morocco” (YLID) and the implementation of the “Integrated Program for the Empowerment of Women” (PLAF), both of which are co-financed by the EU and carried out by institutional actors and Moroccan civil society.
Braghini and Benkhlafa explained that “As part of our Rehabilitation on Community Base strategy (RBC), adopted since 2015, we have led the YLID project, the third axis of which is dedicated to advocacy. Within the framework of this project, we created a “Gender and Exclusion Think Tank,” which led to the elaboration of three memorandums around the promotion of the living conditions of women, caregivers and children.”
During the interview, Braghini and Benkhlafa divulged that these memorandums insist on the facilitation of accompaniment pathways of women and youth in a holistic way with early interventions to promote social inclusion and their full participation in all areas.
This advocacy work continues within the framework of the “PLAF” project, where the “Gender and Exclusion Think Tank” is committed to focusing its advocacy efforts on the empowerment of Women Caregivers of People with Disabilities and Women Caregivers of People with Disabilities during the three years of the project.
Braghini and Benkhlafa added, “Since 2021, PLAF aims to promote employability, empowerment, and women’s entrepreneurship through training in baking and cooking for 200 girls with disabilities and their caregivers.”
The gap between the legal framework and the actions on the ground are notable. Braghini and Benkhlafa concluded to MWN that official figures indicate that these policies are not operational.
There needs to be further collaboration and coordination between the different actors (civil society, public institutions providing essential services and authorities), the lack of a participatory approach on the part of institutional actors, and the involvement of civil society.
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