Naima Ben Yahia was appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI as Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion, and Family on October 23, 2024. She is a prominent political leader, academic, and long-standing advocate for gender equality, human rights, and inclusive public policies in Morocco.

She holds a PhD in Public Law and Political Science from Hassan II University in Casablanca, as well as a Master’s degree in International Relations, Diplomatic Law, and Contemporary Negotiation Techniques from the same institution. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Private Law from Mohammed V University in Rabat.

Ms. Ben Yahia is a member of the Executive Committee of the Istiqlal Party and has held numerous senior governmental and parliamentary positions throughout her career. From May 2023 to October 2024, she served as Parliamentary Advisor on Gender and Human Rights in the House of Representatives. Previously, she was Director of the public institution FONSAFJS at the Ministry of Youth and Sports (2018–2023) and a Member of Parliament (2011–2016), during which she presided over the First Thematic Group on Equality and Parity.

Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Women’s, Family, and Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity (2006–2011), and as Study Coordinator at the State Secretariat for Family, Childhood, and People with Disabilities (2003–2006).

Between 2003 and 2018, Ms. Ben Yahia played a leading role in shaping national strategies on gender equality, combating violence against women, and promoting a culture of equality. She served as Focal Point for the Arab Women Organization, coordinated Morocco’s national reports to CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action, and was Chief Editor of the Equality Bulletin of the Moroccan Center for Information and Documentation on Women. She is also the Founding President of the Center for Gender Equality Studies and Public Policies (CEGEPP), and a co-founder of both the “Parliamentarians for Equality” Network and the RAEDAT Network of Arab Parliamentarians.

In addition to her public service, Ms. Ben Yahia is an accomplished researcher and author. Her academic work includes studies on parliamentary responses to violence against women (2023) and the role of international conventions in national legislation, with a focus on CEDAW (2018). In 2017, she published the book “Conventional Practices of Morocco Regarding Human Rights: CEDAW.”