"For nearly 40 years, thousands of Moroccan Sahrawi women are held hostage in Lahmada camps in Tindouf where they are deprived of any prospect for the future," lamented Lahcen Mahraoui, member of the Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs spokesman of the Association of Sahrawi Moroccan Tribes in Europe (ATMSE).

Mahraoui himself from the southern provinces of the kingdom stressed this bitter reality after his presentation on Moroccan female emigration in Europe, in which he reviewed the evolution of this phenomenon, as well as its advantages and constraints for Moroccan women.

The conference was attended by an audience of Moroccan and French personalities, including the deputy mayor of Orleans, as well as Moroccan civil society actors who came to celebrate the International Day of Women.

In addition to Mahraoui, discussions were led by sociologist Marie Veronique Panas, from the University of Tours, President of the Board of Directors at the National Agency for Social Cohesion and Equal Opportunities (ACSE), Naima Charaï and Driss Alaoui, Director of the Euro-Mediterranean Labor and Exchange Agency (Montpelier).

For the Moroccan side, Khadija Rouissi, Vice-President of the House of Representatives, Hakima El Haiti, President of Liberal International and MP Nabila Benomar took part in this event.

The conference, which ends the days of double culture, is organized by the Consulate General of Morocco in Orleans with the support of the Mayor of the city and the Regional Council of the Centre, in partnership with the National Clearinghouse on Women and Families (CIDFF) as well as the Moroccan magazine "Likouli Nissae."

These days are designed to "examine ways (institutions, associations, etc.) likely to strengthen the capacity of integration, interaction and involvement of Franco-Moroccan women in public life, through awareness rising and appropriately targeted focus on dissemination of quality information (social, legal) and efficient and effective support. "

The event was also an opportunity to highlight "Morocco’s strong commitment to consolidate a modern and egalitarian state. This commitment found its ultimate expression in the inclusion of the principle of gender equality in the constitution of July 2011, and its irreversible will to strengthen the process of women's empowerment and consecration of their political, economic, social and cultural rights. "

- News and events on Western Sahara issue / Corcas -