Rabat — Morocco’s Ombudsman Hassan Tarek announced Wednesday that the “Towards an Administration of Equality” program represents an institutional and civil advocacy project aimed at enabling women to access their rights in public services.
Speaking at the opening of an institutional forum organized by the Ombudsman’s Office under the theme “Towards an Administration of Equality: For Gender-Based Public Policies,” Tarek explained that the national program builds on public dialogue and institutional advocacy.
The initiative stems from real-world concerns, as the institution receives complaints from women about accessing administrative services.
“This program, in its new phase through the Institutional Forum, seeks to examine public efforts to diagnose manifestations of gender-based discrimination within economic, social, and administrative fields,” Tarek said.
He explained that it also looks at how equality approaches shape public policies, government programs, local democracy, budget design, and legislative performance.
Speaking of the forum’s goal, Tarek stressed that it aims to establish a new collective framework for institutional dialogue about inequality, particularly in the relationship between citizens and public administration. The target is to mobilize national institutions to overcome these challenges.
Morocco’s achievements in gender equality
Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family Naima Ben Yahya commended the forum’s focus on achieving justice and gender equality across all sectors through public policies that integrate a gender perspective.
Ben Yahya noted that Morocco has built significant experience in gender-responsive public policies and stands as a regional leader. She pointed to the 2005 adoption of the National Strategy for Integrating Gender into Public Policies, followed by successive gender equality plans that align public policies on gender issues.
“Morocco has not limited itself to government initiatives in this field,” the minister said. “This work extends to Parliament, which incorporates a gender dimension into its laws and practices.” She referred to the approval of several gender-sensitive legal texts.
Constitutional institutions and national bodies take important steps to make women’s fundamental rights a concrete reality through various initiatives, demonstrating strong political will to promote equality, the minister maintained.
The forum’s social significance
Maryam Ouchen Ennaciri, head of UN Women’s Morocco office, called the Ombudsman’s initiative an ambitious step that reflects a genuine commitment to making public administration an effective tool for social transformation based on equality, fairness, and justice.
“Organizing this forum provides an opportunity to reaffirm that ‘administration of equality’ is not merely a technical goal or administrative procedure, but a fundamental democratic challenge and essential pillar for building the social state called for by the Kingdom’s new development model,” Ennaciri said.
Forum participants, including officials and experts from various government, constitutional, and civil institutions, discussed topics related to how constitutional institutions and elected bodies contribute to strengthening administrative gender equality, as well as the reality and implementation challenges of administrative equality in light of public policies.
The national “Towards an Administration of Equality” program aims to scrutinize legal texts, regulations, and administrative practices related to women’s relationship with public administration.
It seeks to identify manifestations of bias or discrimination and offer practical, implementable reform proposals that help establish service justice from a gender equity perspective.
The program also works to build a reference knowledge base that supports the Ombudsman’s annual report and enriches public debate about integrating equality approaches into public policies.
This enhances the institution’s rights culture and embodies its analytical, propositional, and normative functions.
