Badia Skalli (born 1944) is a Moroccan politician. Alongside Latifa Bennani-Smires, she became one of the first two women in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

when she was elected to parliament in 1993.

Biography

Skalli was born in

El Jadida El Jadida (, ) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the region of Casablanca-Settat. It has a population of 170,956 as of 2023. The fortified city, b ...

in 1944.Hinde Taarji (2000
A Woman in the Lion's Den
''UNESCO Courier'' She began studying law at the Casablanca branch of

Mohammed V University Mohammed V University (, ) is a public university in Rabat, Morocco. It was founded in 1957 under a royal decree ( Dahir). It is the first modern university in Morocco after the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. It is named after Mohammed V of ...

in 1962, where she became involved in student politics, joining the executive committee of the National Union of Moroccan Students. Following student protests in 1965, all members of the committee were drafted into the army except Skalli. She also joined the

National Union of Popular Forces The National Union of Popular Forces (; , UNFP) was a political party in Morocco founded in 1959 in Morocco by Mehdi Ben Barka and others. It opposed the monarchy and it was closely associated with the labour movement, the student movement (partic ...

(UNFP), which began operating underground. She married, but her husband was killed three years later in a road accident. Following a 1975 split in the UNFP, she became a founder member of the

Socialist Union of Popular Forces The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (; ; , USFP) is a social democratic political party in Morocco. It claims ideas of social justice, modernity and the fight against inequalities. History and profile The USFP was formed as a breakaway from ...

(USFP) and headed its women's section. She was a USFP candidate in the 1976 local elections but failed to be elected. She was subsequently an unsuccessful candidate in the 1977 parliamentary elections, but was elected to a local council in the 1983 local elections. Following the elections, the USFP planned to appoint her president of the council. However, the resulting uproar led to the party appointing a less experienced male councillor. Skalli was nominated as an USFP candidate for the 1993 parliamentary elections and was one of two women elected to the House of Representatives, becoming the first women in the

Parliament of Morocco The Parliament of Morocco () is the bicameral legislature of Morocco. It is located in Rabat. History The traditional representative system in Morocco was organized through traditional structures such as the ulema assembly by cities and region ...

. She was re-elected in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, but lost her seat in the

2002 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2002. * 2002 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2002 Comorian presidential election * 2002 East Timorese presidential election * 2002 Fijian municipal election * 2002 Hong Kong Chief Executive election * ...

, when the USFP failed to include her on its women's list.Eve Sandberg & Kenza Aqertit (2014
''Moroccan Women, Activists, and Gender Politics: An Institutional Analysis''
p145

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skalli, Badia 1944 births Living people People from El Jadida Mohammed V University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Morocco) Socialist Union of Popular Forces politicians 21st-century Moroccan women politicians 21st-century Moroccan politicians