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A courageous push for rights in Muslim world | The Des Moines Register
Morocco cited as a bright spot for women’s rights in the Muslim world:
[…] What is cause for hope are the progressive movements initiated within the Muslim world. We hear too little about the efforts of protesters and of moderate Muslim countries, like Morocco. Fouzia Elbayed, a Moroccan member of Parliament with the opposition Liberal Party, told the Geneva Summit Morocco’s leaders responded to the Arab Spring by crafting a new constitution, with public input. Morocco and Tunisia established conventions to comply with international human rights laws, and revised civil and criminal codes. By law, women in Morocco must now hold 30 percent of seats in government. And leaders are drafting a law banning violent acts by fundamentalists. These are important reminders that Muslims around the world are pushing back against extremists who would hijack their religion for political gain, and use its name to repress and hurt people. These reformers don’t need our pity or our drone strikes, but our support and alliances…[Full Story]