Amina Bouayach

Amina Bouayach

Amina Bouayach (born 10 December 1957) is a Moroccan human rights activist.

She first came to notice when, in 2006, she became the first woman elected as president of a major NGO in Morocco.[1]

As president of the OMDH, Bouayach worked on major Human Rights issues in her native country such as Torture, Refugee Rights, Women's Rights and the Abolition of the Death penalty.

She was elected vice-president then secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights in 2010 and 2013 respectively.[2]

In 2015, she was awarded the French Legion of Honour in Rabat for her constant involvement for Human Rights and her integrity.[2]

Background

Bouayach was born in Tetouan on 10 December 1957[1] in a Riffian family.

She has a master's degree in economics from Mohammed V University in Rabat.

Bouayach began her Human Rights career at a young age, working with the families of political prisoners during the Years of Lead in Morocco. She spent two years working with notorious sociologist Fatema Mernissi on Women's Rights, especially Muslim Women; and has publihed numerous articles on the subject in Arabic, French, English and Spanish.

Professionally, she has held many political positions, most notably as a member in the cabinet of former Prime minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi from 1998 to 2002, and as a member of the Consultative Commission on Constitutional Reform[1] appointed by King Mohammed VI, in the midst of the Arab Spring. For her notable contributions to the moroccan Constitution, she was awarded the Order of the Throne by King Mohammed VI.

She has worked closely with the United Nations , the African Union and the Euro-Mediterranean Forum on defender's rights, and freedom of association.

She was one of the first human rights figures to visit Tunisia after the abdication of former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and to Libya after the disappearance of former Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi. She was, and remains very active in the regional group for the reform of the Arab States League.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Biography, FIDH.org, Retrieved 17 March 2016
  2. 1 2 Morocc's Amina Bouayach awarded Legion of Honour, Morocco World News, Retrieved 17 March 2016
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.