Moroccan Judge Jamila Sedqi won, on Wednesday evening, the "2022 European International Women’s Leadership Award" (EIWLA).

Established by the International Women's Leadership Forum, this award highlights women “who have decided, at a certain point in their lives, to pursue their dreams, break traditional obligations around them, rise to the challenge of entering male-dominated fields and act respectfully, providing a model for all women, who did not dare (yet), to make their voices heard and develop their potential.”

During the award ceremony celebrating the winners of this cycle, the path of Ms. Sedqi, who is currently a public defender at the Court of Cassation in Morocco, a judge at the African Union Administrative Tribunal, and President of the African Judges Dialogue Forum, was highlighted.

Ms. Sedqi, who received the award from the Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicolas Beer, expressed her great pride for representing "liberated and responsible Moroccan women heads of the family.”

She mentioned that since the 1990s, the situation of women in Morocco had made qualitative progress, in terms of promoting women's rights, both in terms of reforming the national judicial system, in line with international conventions, or in terms of strengthening the institutional framework and developing public policies related to gender equality and the advancement and protection of women's rights.

Ms. Sedqi touched on the crucial political and constitutional reforms implemented in Morocco in the context of promoting and integrating Moroccan women, highlighting, in particular, the development of the status of women judges. In this regard, she pointed out that out of 4,215 judges in Morocco, 1.048 are women, making up 24.87% of judges in Morocco.

The 2022 edition of EIWLA, which was first held in March 2019 at the European Parliament in Brussels, was also awarded to Chantal Hemerijckx (Belgium), Thao Kilbee (Vietnam, Belgium), Marie-Dolorès Mabuila (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium), Monique Ouassa Kouaro (Benin), Rita Ricketts (New Zealand, UK) and Svetlana Spaic (Yugoslavia, Serbia, Paris).

For Radwan Bashiri, President of the International Women's Leadership Forum, this event honors the women leaders from around the world who inspire and make lasting changes within their community, and who are capable of bringing about change whether in the areas of politics, education, or entrepreneurship.

According to the organizers, the International Women's Leadership Forum provides a platform for all female parliamentarians, women entrepreneurs, heads of NGOs, journalists, scientists, researchers, legal professionals, farmers, and all women leaders in their respective fields.