After the announcement that Morocco would appoint its first female head of government – Marrakech mayor Fatima Zahra Mansouri – citizens interviewed by local television reporters were mostly enthusiastic.
asserted
citizens → appoint → reporters
"It would be great if we had a female prime minister for a change.
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we → have → change
She'd lift our spirits a bit," one woman said.
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woman → lift → spirits
"Why don't we give women a chance?
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we → give → chance
We've never had one [a female head of government] before," said another.
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another → have → government
"May God bless her and help her stay on a straight path."
"Regardless of who takes on the role, it should be a change for the better in Morocco," a man added.
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man → bless → Morocco
Some locals questioned how she would take part in official events where tradition and protocol dictate that only men attend.
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men → question → events
"People are saying that a nation cannot succeed if a woman is in charge, even if she's only half in charge," one man told a television reporter, referring to the fact that Morocco's King Mohammed VI has the final say in national politics.
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VI → say → politics
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy so elections are held but the king has ultimate executive power.
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king → hold → power
The head of the country's government, or prime minister, leads the cabinet and administration and executes public policy.
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head → lead → policy
The king chose Fatima Zahra Mansouri, minister of planning and mayor of Marrakesh, over Fouzi Lekjaa, head of Morocco's football federation and budget minister.
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king → choose → federation
The pair are senior members of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, which won the most seats in the country's parliamentary elections in September.
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which → win → September
"If you talk to Moroccans, there are some who are really proud of having a woman at the top and they see a chance for her to have impact on women's representation in society," confirms Anja Freudenreich, who heads the Morocco office of Germany's Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Rabat.
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who → talk → Rabat
"But others see her appointment as bare symbolism."
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others → see → symbolism
Mansouri will lead what is colloquially being called the "World Cup government" as Morocco prepares to invest billions before it hosts the 2030 football World Cup along with Spain and Portugal.
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it → lead → Spain
Mansouri is seen to have shown leadership after the devastating 2023 Morocco earthquake.
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Mansouri → see → earthquake
Her appointment makes her the third woman to lead a government in the Arab world.
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her → make → world
Will Mansouri improve the lot of Moroccan women?
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Mansouri → improve → women
There is no doubt that Mansouri's appointment has important symbolic value, observers say.
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observers → be → value
Two Tunisian women, Najla Bouden and current prime minister Sara Zaafarani, became heads of an Arab government before Mansouri's appointment.
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women → become → appointment
A 2022 surveyby polling organization Arab Barometer found Tunisian attitudes towards women in power had changed as a result.
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attitudes → find → result
Researchers from Arab Barometer believed the change — with only 40% agreeing that "in general, men are better at political leadership than women" in 2022 compared to 56% four years earlier — was the result of a "role model effect."
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men → believe → effect
Before the appointment of Bouden and Zaafarani, there had been no major changes, they pointed out.
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they → point → Bouden
According to a 2025 survey by the organization, attitudes toward women's roles have also been changing in Morocco.
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attitudes → accord → Morocco
Mansouri could accelerate that.
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Mansouri → accelerate → that
"We've already noticed how impactful this [appointment] is in terms of social and cultural norms," said Stephanie Willman Bordat, co-founder of Rabat-based advocacy organization, Mobilizing for Rights Associates (MRA).
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Bordat → notice → Associates
"People in public spaces, in cafes, on trains on their commute and just regular folks are having conversations about women's leadership and the taboo that says women can't be heads of government or women can't be bosses of men.
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women → have → men
"And on a global level, in terms of women's participation, this is really something to encouraging," Bordat, who has lived in Morocco for two decades, told DW.
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who → encourage → DW
"Especially when you look at the global climate of backlash and regression in women's rights.
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you → look → rights
Mansouri's prime ministership "is certainly notable as female leadership in the region is rare," Freudenreich of FES agreed.
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Freudenreich → agree → FES
"It does have a highly symbolic character and I'm sure she does, or she will have, a role model function for women and girls in Morocco as well as in the region.
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she → have → region
"
No major changes from past
However, Mansouri is unlikely to initiate a major change from past politics, Freudenreich suggested.
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Freudenreich → initiate → politics
She's more of a pragmatist than a rebel — a quality that's likely to see her navigate the much-discussed issues of protocol — and her party's electoral manifesto doesn't go into any major detail on women's issues, she pointed out.
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she → see → issues
Before the September elections, MRA looked at which parties had women's issues in their electoral manifestos.
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parties → look → manifestos
Mansouri's party, PAM, appeared to offer only three such policies.
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party → appear → policies
Other parties were more vocal on women's issues than PAM, with some saying they would push for updates to the Moroccan family code, or "moudawana."
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they → say → code
This sets rules on all-important aspects of Moroccan women's lives like custody of children, divorce, property rights, marriage, polygamy and domestic violence.
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This → set → children
It has not been updated since 2004.
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It → update → 2004
Did the king pick a symbol or is he genuine?
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he → pick → symbol
In 2023, King Mohammed VI asked the then-prime minister to look into further updates to the family code.
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VI → ask → code
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
