Oberlin Professor Helps Women Seeking Office in Morocco’s Parliament by Betty Gabrielli
		MARCH 21, 2002--When Morocco’s young and progressive monarch, King Mohammed VI, announced a plan to improve rights for women in December 2000, hundreds of thousands of Muslim fundamentalists and representatives from women's groups took to the streets of Rabat and Casablanca to hold conflicting rallies. "There was such a conflict within the general population that the government decided to focus solely on women’s political participation," says Eve Sandberg, associate professor of politics and a political consultant. Empowered by the decision, 44 Moroccan women intent on running for parliament convened in Rabat last November to learn campaign strategies from Sandberg and six other U.S. and Canadian consultants during an intensive week-long workshop. "To work together and be a part of the historic process expanding women’s participation in Morocco's political process at a time when we are very alert to nationality and religious differences was very rewarding," Sandberg says. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs invited the consultants to Morocco. Cathy Allen, a political consultant based in Seattle, led the team. "Allen has worked with probably more women candidates than any political consultant on the planet," says Sandberg, an Africanist who does research and writing on political party rivalries and the evolution of political party systems in the sub-Saharan region. Sandberg also runs a small firm, Strategic Research Inc., which does campaign consulting, advocacy work on policy issues, and policy research. She was invited to join the delegation to Morocco once Allen realized that a consultant with an academic background could interact in significant ways with the women and their translators. "The participants were largely professionals, businesswomen, and teachers from 14 different parties," Sandberg says. "Our team's arrival was reported on national television, which made the women very happy because it allowed the prime minister to recommit to having the parties endorse women for 20 percent of their slots for parliament." The sessions began at 7:00 A.M. and often ran past midnight. During morning hours, consultants discussed campaign planing and public speaking with the candidates. The rest of the day was spent leading the women through skill-building exercises and examining how campaign strategies could be presented to various constituencies. "Our greatest challenge was adapting to Morocco’s election laws," says Sandberg. "The laws prevent a secret ballot and constrain the length of time you can campaign and the ways you can raise money. For example, women in Moroccan culture can ask occupational or political groups for contributions, but they are not allowed to ask family and friends for donations." Sandberg continues: "My greatest satisfaction was that the women were absolutely wonderful to work with. They were very enthusiastic and energized. Whether these women are elected or not, they are paving the way for the women who will come after them." Sandberg will return to Morocco next month to work with university professors who teach American studies and who served as translators during the workshop. "I'll be teaching them to train the women who want to run for local and national offices. We are also going back for the elections in September. And we’ll keep in touch with many of these women--some of the younger ones came to the training because they want to run in the future and their party had identified them as up-and-coming young leaders."
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