First female Prime Minister appointed

Fatima Zahra El Mansouri has been named Morocco's first female Prime Minister, after her centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (Pam) won the most seats in last week's parliamentary elections. Her appointment makes her only the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia's Najla Bouden, reports BBC News. She was named by King Mohammed VI, who chose her as Prime Minister over the country's football chief Fouzi Lekjaa, a top politician from the same party. El Mansouri, (50), has been the mayor of Marrakesh for a number of years and also served as a minister in the previous coalition government. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy but most power remains in the hands of the king. At a victory press conference, prior to her announcement as Prime Mini ster, El Mansouri was asked whether the state would need to make changes to accommodate her in Muslim religious ceremonies attended by the king, including Friday and Eid prayers, where men and women pray in separate sections. She did not directly answer the question, instead praising the king as ‘the biggest advocate for women’ in the country. A lawyer by training, El Mansouri studied at Mohammed V University in the capital, Rabat, before continuing her education in France and the US, specialising in business and corporate law. In the past five years, she served as a Minister for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy under former Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch. During her political career, El Mansouri has rarely spoken publicly about women's rights or gender inequality, despite ongoing debates in Morocco over issues such as whether polygamy should be banned and whether men and women should have equal inheritance rights.

Full BBC News report