PROJECT TO ORGANIZE WOMEN WORKING IN INFORMAL SECTORS LAUNCHED IN THE REGION OF SOUSS MASSA

In line with the project of “new methodologies in the field of human rights and calls for local development”, the Women of the South Association launched a project to organize women working in the informal sectors.

The Women of the South Association, in partnership with the regional administrative office of the Advisory Council on Human Rights in Agadir, launched its project to organize women working in the informal sectors, on 4 November2010. This project falls in line with the project of “new methodologies in the field of human rights and calls for local development”, entrusted to Council and supported by the Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR).

Representatives of social ministerial sectors, hearing units (affiliated to the Ministry of Justice, Security, and Royal Gendarmerie), Planning Delegation, human rights associations, unions, the University of Ibn Zahr-Agadir (Sociology Department, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics) and Souss Massa local authorities participated in this workshop.

Workshops on “the right to work and gender in Morocco”, “reality of the work of women in the informal sector” and “women and the reality of the informal sector: sociological approach” were discussed during this meeting.

Several other workshops were organized as well: “the development of a common vision on the concept of the informal sector”, “aspects of the situation of women working in the informal sector” and “proposals to improve the conditions and situation of women working in the informal sector”. In addition, the reference frames of a field study, to be conducted by the Women of the South Association, were presented.

According to the Association, this project takes into consideration the “vulnerability of the female working force in the region of Souss Massa Daraa (20 to 30 thousand female workers) and their unawareness of their fundamental rights in addition to violence cases collected by the hearing centers and the other stakeholders in the field (Aids associations, single mothers associations, human rights associations, etc.)”.

The project targets several categories, including female domestic workers, women working in farms, traditional hammams (public baths), cafés and traditional restaurants and wedding entertainers. It aims to conduct a field investigation on the reality and situation of women working in the informal sectors in the region of Souss Massa, in order to identify their problems and suggest relevant pertinent solutions.

The main objective of the projects is to participate in the development of a human rights based approach to integrate women working in the informal sectors in the job market, protect their fundamental rights and provide exact social and economic information on women working in the informal sectors, at the local level.

The results sought evolve around three main points:

- Mobilizing government stakeholders and associations to suggest pertinent solutions to improve the living conditions of these categories;

- Strengthening the capacities of the Women of the South Associations in the field of field investigation and documentation;

- Raising awareness on the rights of women working in the informal sectors through posters, leaflets and audiovisual tools.

The project of the new methodologies in the field of human rights and calls for local development was launched in May 2010. It is financed by Ford Foundation and executed by the Center for Arab Women Training and Research in three Arab countries (Morocco, in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Human Rights, Egypt and Yemen). It aims to financially support selected associations and strengthen their capacities to execute projects aiming to promote citizenship and social justice and ensure dignity and equality.