13 February 2012
After a long wait and avid speculation, the Benkirane government has been officially announced and sworn in. National and international commentators point out what appears to be this government’s most distinctive feature: it only has one female minister, Bassima El-Hakkawi. This is, of course a regression as far as female representation at the highest levels of power is concerned. It not only violates the wishes of females activists and the statements of successive governments for almost half a century, but it also disregards the commitment to gender equality proclaimed in the new constitution.