Morocco's first female prime minister caught between the king, clerics, and feminists

The Islamic saying "a people who entrust their affairs to a woman will never succeed" has resurfaced in Morocco since King Mohammed VI named Fatima Zahra El Mansouri as the country's first female prime minister.

Mustafa Ramid, a former justice minister in an Islamist-led government, cited the saying earlier this month, in a lengthy Facebook post questioning whether a woman should hold the country's highest political office.

He argued that Morocco, a Muslim majority country, had found a balance between equality and the responsibilities of state leadership, as the highest office - that of the king - continued to be reserved for men.

Morocco operates as a constitutional monarchy. Yet executive power remains in the hands of the 63-year-old monarch.

El Mansouri's Authenticity and Modernity Party (Pam) won the most seats in September's parliamentary election and has since announced a coalition with three other parties. Together, they hold 207 of the 395 seats in parliament.

El Mansouri's royal appointment was historic but it exposed persistent reservations about women in positions of power.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Full Text)