Morocco's 'revolution'
Morocco's 'revolution'
Updated 10:41pm (Mla time) Dec 09, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the December 10, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
RABAT, Morocco -- Receiving the "Global Leaders Award" in the 2004 Global Media Awards, held in this capital city of Morocco last Sunday, was Nouzha Skalli, a member of the Moroccan Parliament. A member of the House of Representatives since 2002, but a politician and public servant for over 30 years, starting with her initial exposure in campus politics, Skalli, according to the Wall Street Journal, has become "a major force behind major changes in the Moroccan Parliament, working all her life (on advocacy for) gender equality and human rights."
She is credited with leading the struggle for the successful passage of the New Family Code, which, as she put it in her response, "grants women equality and co-responsibility and considers women at long last full-fledged citizens, a truly revolutionary move." The focus on the links between democracy, human rights and gender equality, said Skalli, "are so vital, like air and water" for achieving sustainable development and equality for all people.
Skalli dedicated her award to "my country and my King," who she said "supports the rights of Moroccan women." A symbolic but nonetheless significant step forward for gender equality, she added, has been the public role given to the King's wife, Princess Selma, who has become a role model for young Moroccan women, an unprecedented development for the monarchy.
* * *
BUT revolutionary change doesn't only take place in parliaments or the royal family. For change to take root, it must be embraced by individuals and families, and if Skalli's family life is anything to go by, then it seems there is no turning back for Morocco's march toward modernization.
Mohammed Bennis, Skalli's husband of 26 years, has been solidly behind his wife's political career even if, he admits, "it's embarrassing at times, especially when people address me as Mr. Skalli." A professional simultaneous interpreter and language teacher, Bennis says that when he first told his parents about his marriage plans and they wanted to meet his fiancée, he told them, "You can see what she looks like in the posters on the streets since she's running for office." They have two children, both of whom are young adults and studying abroad.
Apart from Skalli, the other Moroccan awardees recognized at the Awards Dinner graced by the Moroccan ministers of health, information and social services and some parliamentarians, were, as I mentioned in an earlier column, the Ennakhil Association for the "Gender Equity Award," and the Moroccan Family Planning Association which received the "Country Award."
* * *
THE OTHER winners of this year's Global Media Awards are no less accomplished. Awarded for "Best Individual Reporting Effort" was Zubeida Mustafa, assistant editor of Dawn, a daily newspaper in English published in Pakistan. An editorial writer on social issues and international affairs, Zubeida was recognized for her articles highlighting initiatives contained in the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development which marks its 10th anniversary this year.
Recognized as "Most Conscientious News Service" was Inter Press Service (IPS), represented by Ramesh Jaura, Euro-Mediterranean coordinator for the agency. Asked by a Moroccan journalist what award "gives him the most pleasure," Werner Fornos, president of Population Institute, singled out IPS, which has made reporting on issues confronting the developing world a priority. "Their work shows us that social development is a great investment," said Fornos, "cheaper than investing in war."
Radio Tanzania was awarded "Best Radio Programming," particularly for two of its programs: "Twende Na Wakati" (Let's Move with the Times), a very popular radio soap opera, and "Mambo Bomba" (Cool Things), a show for young people. Both shows focus on family life, while addressing population issues, including sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Martha Swai, the program coordinator and my roommate on this trip through Morocco, won the award previously in 2000, receiving her plaque from former President Joseph Estrada the day before he was forced to vacate Malacañang.
The Worldwatch Institute's World Watch Magazine, a bi-monthly journal concerned with environmental issues, was awarded "Best Population Journal" for its special issue on reproductive health and population concerns, "Population: Beyond the Numbers." Danielle Nierenberg, who authored many of the articles in that publication, represented the magazine.
* * *
CITED for "Best Population/Environmental Reporting Effort" was Centro Centroamericano de Poblacion in Costa Rica, for its publication "Poblacion y Salud en Mesoamerica," which examines potential relations between fertility and the access to and use of natural resources in Peten, Guatemala.
Winning the award for best team reporting effort was "Salud Publica de Mexico," a bi-monthly journal published by the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico.
The "Best Combined Media Effort" award went to the Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs, cited for "Know Yourself," an integrated communication campaign aimed at Bangladeshi youth.
This columnist was cited for "(writing) tirelessly of the Philippine society's unmet need for access to reproductive health services and information ... and consistently (standing up) to reproductive health advocacy detractors ... (being) at the frontlines of the continuous struggle to inform and educate people."
Much of the credit for this honor goes to my family -- in the broadest sense of the word, to include my loved ones, my colleagues in the Inquirer, my sisters in the women's movement, my friends in sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy, and all of you, faithful readers.
Updated 10:41pm (Mla time) Dec 09, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the December 10, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
RABAT, Morocco -- Receiving the "Global Leaders Award" in the 2004 Global Media Awards, held in this capital city of Morocco last Sunday, was Nouzha Skalli, a member of the Moroccan Parliament. A member of the House of Representatives since 2002, but a politician and public servant for over 30 years, starting with her initial exposure in campus politics, Skalli, according to the Wall Street Journal, has become "a major force behind major changes in the Moroccan Parliament, working all her life (on advocacy for) gender equality and human rights."
She is credited with leading the struggle for the successful passage of the New Family Code, which, as she put it in her response, "grants women equality and co-responsibility and considers women at long last full-fledged citizens, a truly revolutionary move." The focus on the links between democracy, human rights and gender equality, said Skalli, "are so vital, like air and water" for achieving sustainable development and equality for all people.
Skalli dedicated her award to "my country and my King," who she said "supports the rights of Moroccan women." A symbolic but nonetheless significant step forward for gender equality, she added, has been the public role given to the King's wife, Princess Selma, who has become a role model for young Moroccan women, an unprecedented development for the monarchy.
* * *
BUT revolutionary change doesn't only take place in parliaments or the royal family. For change to take root, it must be embraced by individuals and families, and if Skalli's family life is anything to go by, then it seems there is no turning back for Morocco's march toward modernization.
Mohammed Bennis, Skalli's husband of 26 years, has been solidly behind his wife's political career even if, he admits, "it's embarrassing at times, especially when people address me as Mr. Skalli." A professional simultaneous interpreter and language teacher, Bennis says that when he first told his parents about his marriage plans and they wanted to meet his fiancée, he told them, "You can see what she looks like in the posters on the streets since she's running for office." They have two children, both of whom are young adults and studying abroad.
Apart from Skalli, the other Moroccan awardees recognized at the Awards Dinner graced by the Moroccan ministers of health, information and social services and some parliamentarians, were, as I mentioned in an earlier column, the Ennakhil Association for the "Gender Equity Award," and the Moroccan Family Planning Association which received the "Country Award."
* * *
THE OTHER winners of this year's Global Media Awards are no less accomplished. Awarded for "Best Individual Reporting Effort" was Zubeida Mustafa, assistant editor of Dawn, a daily newspaper in English published in Pakistan. An editorial writer on social issues and international affairs, Zubeida was recognized for her articles highlighting initiatives contained in the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development which marks its 10th anniversary this year.
Recognized as "Most Conscientious News Service" was Inter Press Service (IPS), represented by Ramesh Jaura, Euro-Mediterranean coordinator for the agency. Asked by a Moroccan journalist what award "gives him the most pleasure," Werner Fornos, president of Population Institute, singled out IPS, which has made reporting on issues confronting the developing world a priority. "Their work shows us that social development is a great investment," said Fornos, "cheaper than investing in war."
Radio Tanzania was awarded "Best Radio Programming," particularly for two of its programs: "Twende Na Wakati" (Let's Move with the Times), a very popular radio soap opera, and "Mambo Bomba" (Cool Things), a show for young people. Both shows focus on family life, while addressing population issues, including sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Martha Swai, the program coordinator and my roommate on this trip through Morocco, won the award previously in 2000, receiving her plaque from former President Joseph Estrada the day before he was forced to vacate Malacañang.
The Worldwatch Institute's World Watch Magazine, a bi-monthly journal concerned with environmental issues, was awarded "Best Population Journal" for its special issue on reproductive health and population concerns, "Population: Beyond the Numbers." Danielle Nierenberg, who authored many of the articles in that publication, represented the magazine.
* * *
CITED for "Best Population/Environmental Reporting Effort" was Centro Centroamericano de Poblacion in Costa Rica, for its publication "Poblacion y Salud en Mesoamerica," which examines potential relations between fertility and the access to and use of natural resources in Peten, Guatemala.
Winning the award for best team reporting effort was "Salud Publica de Mexico," a bi-monthly journal published by the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico.
The "Best Combined Media Effort" award went to the Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs, cited for "Know Yourself," an integrated communication campaign aimed at Bangladeshi youth.
This columnist was cited for "(writing) tirelessly of the Philippine society's unmet need for access to reproductive health services and information ... and consistently (standing up) to reproductive health advocacy detractors ... (being) at the frontlines of the continuous struggle to inform and educate people."
Much of the credit for this honor goes to my family -- in the broadest sense of the word, to include my loved ones, my colleagues in the Inquirer, my sisters in the women's movement, my friends in sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy, and all of you, faithful readers.
posted by Dante at 2:30 PM
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