Follow the Sun: Women and Political Participation in Samoa, Malaysia and Morocco

Join us for three roundtable discussions on (Indigenous) women’s ability to participate in politics in Morocco, Samoa and Malaysia. The roundtables will all take place on International Women’s Day 2021 (8 March) and will either be conducted via Zoom or live streamed to our YouTube and Facebook channels.

The roundtables bring together women from academic, NGO, political and community spheres to discuss barriers to (Indigenous) women’s political participation and what is being done to overcome these barriers.

A short film will be created from the roundtables in Morocco, Samoa and Malaysia. This film will address how a comparative analysis of Morocco, Samoa and Malaysia can develop our understanding of barriers to Indigenous women’s political participation and of the role of the state and local government in shaping women’s role in society.

These events are generously funded by the British Academy.

 

Malaysia, 6pm Malaysia / 10am GMT

The Malaysian roundtable is being chaired by Dr Sharon A. Bong (Monash University Malaysia) and will feature contributions and discussion from special guests YB Maria Chin Abdullah (Malaysian Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya constituency), Ms Hannah Reshma Jambunathan (Women's Aid Organisation) and Ms Shereen Ajani (Universiti Malaya).

 

Please follow this link to book your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/follow-the-sun-women-and-political-participation-tickets-140961707261

YB Maria Chin Abdullah became a Member of Parliament in 2018 after winning the Petaling Jaya constituency seat. She is the Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDGs) and a member of the Parliamentary Caucus on Reform and Governance.

Maria is a women’s rights activist and has worked for women’s rights for over 30 years. She is a strong advocate for women’s political participation, electoral and institutional reform and she led the massive Bersih 4 & Bersih 5 rallies for free and fair elections. Before the Bersih 5 rally, Maria was detained without trial under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) for 11 days in solitary confinement.

Hannah Reshma Jambunathan is a Capacity Building Officer with Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), steering the Girls & Youth Empowerment initiatives. She has extensive experience leading feminist-focused research, and conducted a pioneering study on street harassment while pursuing her Honours Degree in Gender Studies at Monash. She has been actively involved in advancing women's rights in Malaysia for over five years now, working closely with the WAO team to shape empowered communities and build pathways to a better future for women and girls in Malaysia.

Shereen Ajani is an Orang Asli from the Temuan tribe in Selangor, Malaysia. A law student from Universiti Malaya, Shereen believes that, by mastering law, she will be able to provide legal aid to her people to protect the rights to their native customary land. She is actively involved in her community by raising awareness about the plight of Indigenous people in Peninsular Malaysia. Her primary focus is supporting Orang Asli children and youth to get a better access to education opportunities and facilities through a pilot project known as “Projek Mahasiswa Orang Asli”. Sheeren believes that education will help Orang Asli to achieve a better life whilst also preserving their traditions and customs.

 

Morocco 5pm WEST / 4pm GMT

The Moroccan roundtable is being chaired by Dr Fadma Aït Mous (Hassan II University of Casablanca) and will feature contributions and discussion from special guests Khadija Errebbah, Charafat Afailal, Naziha Abakarim and Sana Benbelli.

 

Please follow this link to book your place: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/follow-the-sun-women-and-political-participation-tickets-141940601159

 

Fadma Aït Mous is currently Professor of Sociology at Aïn Chock Faculty of Letters and the Humanities (Hassan II University of Casablanca), Head of the Sociology Department at the same faculty, and researcher at Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Différenciations Socio Anthropologiques et les Identités Sociales (LADSIS). Her research is mainly focused on issues related to nationalism and social movements, gender and socio-political transformations, history and memory, youth cultures, social media and migration.

Khadija Errebbah is an international consultant on gender issues and works closely with many local authorities. She is also the coordinator of the movement for parity in democracy and a founding member of the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM). Khadija is the author of several manuals and training toolkits and teaches communications, advocacy and networking at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities of Mohammedia.

Her interests include the promotion of women’s rights, gender and development, participatory democracy, monitoring and evaluating public policies, action research, and gender-sensitive diagnostics and auditing.

Charafat Afailal was the Minister in charge of water in the Moroccan government between 2013 and 2018 and is currently an expert on water and climate with many international institutions. She is a member of the progress and socialism party since 2001 and is a women’s right activist. She has contributed to the creation of the national Parity and Equality Forum defending gender equality. Charafat has been an elected member of the Moroccan representative house in 2011. As a Minister, she launched several landmark reforms that ensured water security in a difficult climatic context. Many of these reforms were concluded under her leadership (the Moroccan water policy 2015-2030, development and implementation of the drought management plans, establishment of a new mode of groundwater governance, development of re-use plans, etc.).

Naziha Abakarim is a high-school teacher in Tiznit, an Amazigh poet, lyricist and composer, and a political activist and social worker. She is a member of the political office of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) party, a member of Tiznit City Council, and President of the Human Development and Social Affairs commission of the same council. She is also a member of the Equality and Equal opportunities commission of Tiznit Council. Naziha is a member of the Moroccan Women Writer’s Organization and has presented on women’s rights, sustainable development and Amazigh language and culture in many conferences. She has been honored by the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture, and was selected by the magazine "Challenge" as one of 60 key Moroccan women leaders in 2016.

Sana Benbelli is Professor of sociology at the Hassan II University of Casablanca, associate member of the LADSIS and Vice-President of the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women. Benbelli is interested in women’s access to public space and to various forms of exclusion, particularly those relating to disability and migration.Her work is currently focused on the forms of urban socialisation in Casablanca, particularly in relation to urban margins and urban nights.

 

Samoa, 9am (SST) / 7pm GMT

The Samoan roundtable will feature contributions from special guests Dr Simona Marinescu (UN Resident Coordinator, Samoa), Hon. Fiame Naomi Mataafa (independent Member of Parliament), Taulapapa Brend Heather-Latu (Latu Lawyers), Mulitato Mauga Fetogi R. Vaai (ACEO Office of the Electoral Commission) and Dr Potoae Aiafi Roberts (academic/researcher).

 

The discussion is being live streamed via the National University of Samoa’s Facebook page available at https://m.facebook.com/TheNationalUniversityofSamoa/ or www.nus.edu.ws

 

Simona Marinescu is UN Resident Coordinator for Samoa. She supports the work of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, who heads the UN multi-country office covering Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tokelau. The UN Resident Coordinator also leads a UN Country Team of 12 UN agencies to ensure the coordination, harmonisation, and simplification of their support to achieve national development goals. Before joining international organizations, Simona Marinescu was an elected Senator in the Parliament of Romania, leading the Labor and Social Affairs Committee of the Senate. Prior to the Senate term, Simona served as Minister of Labor and Social Protection in the Government of Romania.

Rt. Hon. Fiame Naomi Mataafa is a Samoan politician and high chief (matai). She was Samoa’s first female Cabinet Minister and from 2016 to 2020 served as Samoa’s first female Deputy Prime Minister. Rt. Hon Fiame has held multiple ministerial portfolios and is a founding member of the Human Rights Protection Party. Naomi is currently an independent Member of Parliament and candidate for Fa’atuatua i Le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T).

Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu is a New Zealand-born Samoan lawyer and former Attorney General of Samoa. She was the first New Zealand-born Samoa to head a government department in Apia. Taulapapa joined private practice in 2007 after 20 years as legal counsel and adviser in the public sector. She specializes in corporate and commercial transactions, civil litigation as well as corporate and good governance. Taulapapa joined the firm after completing three terms (1997 – 2006) as the Attorney General of Samoa, making her the longest serving office holder to date. As Attorney General, Brenda undertook a broad range of legal work including conducting significant civil and constitutional cases for Government, as well as prosecuting Samoa’s first political assassination.

Mulitalo Mauga Fetogi R. Vaai is the ACEO Legal Policy and Investigation, Office of the Electoral Commission in Samoa. The mission of the OEC is to work in partnership with all stakeholders to implement efficient and effective electoral systems and services to maintain and upload the basic principles and components of the democratic process for Samoa.

Muliagatele Ausia Manaia Potoae Roberts Aiafi served as a public servant for 11 years before venturing into research, teaching, consultancy and independent advisory roles. Muliagatele brings a wealth of experience on the Pacific and is currently a Consultant at the Social Protection Joint Programme (UNDP, UNESCO, ILO, UNESCAP and UNICEF), which is being implemented in four Pacific Island Countries and Territories: Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.