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. "It would be great if we had a female prime minister for a change. She'd lift our spirits a bit," one woman said.
"Why don't we give women a chance? We've never had one [a female head of government] before," said another. "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.
But there were also naysayers. Some locals questioned how she would take part in official events where tradition and protocol dictate that only men attend. "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.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy so elections are held but the king has ultimate executive power. The head of the country's government, or prime minister, leads the cabinet and administration and executes public 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.
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. "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. "But others see her appointment as bare 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.
Mansouri is seen to have shown leadership after the devastating 2023 Morocco earthquake. Her appointment makes her the third woman to lead a government in the Arab world. There is no doubt that Mansouri's appointment has important symbolic value, observers say.
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