Morocco’s first woman prime minister balances tradition, royal power and reform hopes

El Mansouri’s appointment by the king was a historic moment, but it also exposed persistent unease about women occupying positions of power.

The day after she was named prime minister, local broadcaster Chouf TV took to the streets to ask Moroccan men what they thought of a woman leading the government.

Several respondents, most of them middle-aged or older, hesitated before answering. Some said they accepted the decision because it came from the king.

One grey-haired man, who declined to give his name or age, said: “It feels strange to have a woman as head of government. I’m not sure if it sits well with me.”

Criticism of the monarchy carries legal risks in Morocco, with the penal code criminalising certain forms of insult or offence against the king, the royal family and the monarchy.

The appointment also became a subject of political satire online.

A video showing two women pulling each other’s hair circulated widely, accompanied by captions speculating about what parliamentary disputes between El Mansouri and her colleagues might look like.

However, many younger Moroccans, particularly women, welcomed her appointment.

Although social attitudes are changing, conservative religious perspectives continue to carry substantial influence.

Some of Morocco’s most contentious debates over gender equality concern family law, including inheritance, marriage and divorce.

Under the existing inheritance system, a daughter typically receives half the share allocated to a son in comparable circumstances.

The Higher Council of Ulemas, Morocco’s body of religious scholars, has opposed calls for equal inheritance, citing Islamic jurisprudence.

It has also rejected proposals to abolish taasib, a rule under which female orphans without brothers may be required to share inherited property with male relatives, including distant ones.

In a 2022 report, Morocco’s National Human Rights Council said that unequal inheritance rules contributed to poverty among women.

Polygamy is also permitted under certain conditions. Proposed amendments to the family code would allow women to include a clause in their marriage contracts prohibiting their husbands from taking additional wives.

However, exceptions would remain, including provisions linked to a first wife’s infertility or illness, which women’s rights groups have criticised because of concerns over privacy and medical confidentiality.

These disputes are central to proposals to reform the Moudawana, Morocco’s family code governing marriage, divorce and child custody.

A package of reforms was announced in 2024, but the changes have not yet entered into law.

Beyond family law, some young women hope El Mansouri will work to improve girls’ access to education.

Morocco’s High Commission for Planning, the country’s official national statistics agency, reported in 2025 that only 55% of girls aged 15 to 17 were attending school in rural areas, where poverty, early marriage and dropping out remain major barriers. The figure was 100% in urban areas.

“Many girls in rural Morocco leave school early because schools are far away, transport is unsafe or unavailable, and families with limited means often keep their daughters at home,” Chifae Laazouzi, a young Moroccan woman, told the BBC.

She also said that many girls in poor and rural communities cannot afford menstrual hygiene products.

“Menstrual health is still treated as a taboo. I would like to see free menstrual products provided in schools,” Laazouzi said.

El Mansouri is an experienced politician who has spent more than two decades in public life, serving as mayor of Marrakech, holding several government positions and sitting in parliament.

For the past five years, she was minister for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy under former Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After her appointment, El Mansouri described the moment as a milestone for Moroccan women.

“Being the first female head of government is not just a source of pride for me, but for all the women of the kingdom,” she said.

Since taking office, she has not said whether she intends to push for the proposed family-code reforms.

Nor has she made prominent public statements about women’s rights during her political career, even as debates over inheritance, polygamy and the family code continued.

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