Civil society in transition: the experiences of centres for abused women in Morocco

Abstract

This article reports on the experiences of two centres for abused women in Rabat, Morocco. Through in‐depth surveys and interviews of the centres’ clients, victims, staff and other organisational personnel, it seeks to identify the changing nature of civil society in Morocco. In particular, it investigates the way in which the transformation of private and public space is permitting a formerly underrepresented segment of civil society to find a voice on important social and personal issues. This transformation is supported and strengthened by a number of activist individuals, in this case mainly women. Through their mostly voluntary efforts, such activists are working to gradually integrate otherwise abused, neglected and underrepresented women into mainstream society. In so doing, they are creating an opportunity for the resolution of critical personal, psychological and social issues within the broader Moroccan socio‐political landscape which may be a precursor to an expanding process of political democratisation.