Moroccan Feminist Discourses

F. Sadiqi

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781137392688
• eBook ISBN: 9781137455093
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology
• Index: Social Sciences

Both a scholarly and personal critique of current feminist Moroccan discourses, this book is a call for a larger-than-Islam framework that accommodates the Berber dimension. Sadiqi argues that current feminist discourse, both secular and Islamic ones, are not only divergent but limit the rich heritage, knowledge, and art of Berber women.

Notes

Introduction

1. The anthology was published by The Feminist Press in 2009.

2. My father was a military officer. A whole generation of Moroccan rural women who could access school and ascend in the social ladder had military fathers. This breed of fathers had the characteristic of both clinging to their rural roots and seeing in the education of their children, regardless of sex, the only means to survive in the city. These fathers were interestingly more open and less conservative than the urban fathers. Their story is yet to be written.

3. The “modernity” issue is intrinsically related to women’s status. This issue is addressed in chapter three.

4. The terms “larger” and “discourses” are used here in the sense of “inclusive of the Berber dimension” and “knowledge production/meaning- making,” respectively.

5. The reemergence of this symbolism and knowledge is dealt with in chapter five.

1 The Berber Challenge

1. The ancestral presence of the Berber language and culture is probably the most characterizing feature of the countries of the Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania) which differentiates this region from the Middle East.

2. See Chafik (1987).

3. In the first Moroccan constitution, which was promulgated in 1962, Arabic was declared the sole official language and Islam the official religion.

4. This strategy was translated into the division of Morocco into al-maghrin al-nafi’ (useful Morocco) and al-maghrib al-ghair al-nafi’ (non-useful Morocco).

5. See chapter two for more details on the origin and history of Berbers.

6. A combination of academics and activists is found in the three waves of the Berber movement.

7. The goals of this association were largely inspired by the work of the Paris Académie Berbère (see Elaissati 2005 for more details on this).

8. The latter association previously belonged to a radical Marxist-Leninist political trend.

9. The term “Tifinagh” is derived from “finiq” (Phoenician), but the Tifinagh is not an imitation of the Phoenician alphabet. Berber was first written from top down, then in all directions until the end of the nineteenth century AD when the Tuaregs wrote it from right to left. Tifinagh had sixteen consonants originally; the number increased to twenty-three in the Numidian Masili Kingdom and vowels, tidbakin (corresponding to “a,” “u,” and “i”), were added later (Camps 1980). The whole set of alphabets is called “agamak,” used by ancient Berbers on the walls of caves and rocks. Having an ancient script was instrumental in the structural unification of Berber.

10. In its Article Four, the Charter states:

Les langues et les dialectes régionaux sont un moyen d’appui pour favoriser l’apprentissage des connaissances et aptitudes de compréhension et d’expression en langue arabe.

The regional languages and dialects are a supporting means that favors learning and the capacity to understand and express ideas in the Arabic language. (Author’s translation.)

This is confirmed in Article Nine:

Les autorités pédagogiques régionales pourront, dans le cadre de la proportion curriculaire laissée à leur initiative, choisir l’utilisation de la langue Tamazight ou tout dialecte local dans le but de faciliter l’apprentissage de la langue officielle au préscolaire et au premier cycle de l’école primaire.

The regional pedagogical authorities may choose to use Berber or another local dialect in their curricular and in the amount that suits them with the aim of facilitating the learning of the official language in the kindergarten and the first cycle of the primary level. (Author’s translation.)

11. See the English version of the royal speech at: http://www.ircam.ma/doc/divers/the_royal_speech.pdf.

12. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) recognized the Tifinagh script in 2011. However, this script has not replaced the Latin and Arabic scripts. The latter are still used to write Berber.

13. It is important to note that IRCAM was not the first institution to produce Berber textbooks. The first institution to do so was the Foundation BMCE (BMCE Foundation), headed by a woman: Leila Benjelloune. These first textbooks were based on a division of the Berberphones regions into three zones: the North, the Center, and the South. A team of six linguists, each pair targeting a speci...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Introduction
• One The Berber Challenge
• Two The Historicity of Berber Women’s Agency
• Three Sources of Authority in Moroccan Culture
• Four Secular and Islamic Feminist Discourses
• Five The Berber Dimension
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index