Marrakech - Iraqi American women's rights activist Zainab Salbi said that it is very critical to include women in all the aspects of society, noting that 'Morocco is a very important country that invested in having women be part of both the political establishment and the religious interpretation.'
Speaking at the Global Entrepreneurial Summit taking place in Marrakech, Salbi, who is founder and former CEO of Women for Women International (USA), said that 'Morocco does provide a good example from a Muslim perspective and from a predominantly Muslim country of how important it is to incorporate women in different aspects of society, including the religious sphere.'
Salbi stressed that education is very important to women yet it should not be their last door, adding that although women make up 60% of university graduates across the Arab world, they drop their economic opportunities and as a result only 10% end up participating in the marketplace.
"It's cultural," she said, highlighting the fact that women tend to give up their professional aspirations after becoming mothers and having babies.
"But culture for me is not a rigid point, you change culture, culture evolves," she added.
She also said that at this moment in the region's history there is a need to get more women out working, earning money and creating jobs.
Citing the World Bank in her intervention, Salbi added that while men who start a business only invest 40% of their income back in their families and don't necessarily hire other family members, women spend 90% of their business earnings on their families and immediately start hiring family members.
"Access to knowledge is important, but if you do not have access to money you cannot change your life," she concluded.
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