Abstract
This article analyzes the intersection of gender, women’s activism, and political participation in Morocco in a socio-political approach. The emergence of women’s activism is an answer to the gender-based discrimination in the country. Women’s non-government organizations (NGOs) struggle for women’s rights and participate actively in the feminization and democratization of the public sphere to ensure sustainable development. They create progressive social change through the mobilization and participation of women. The role of women’s NGO’s (liberal and Islamic alike) in the struggle against gender inequalities is remarkable in regard of their efforts to consolidate democracy and social justice and to challenge traditional thinking and inequitable, oppressive, undemocratic, sexist practices of governance. Despite the different approaches, they act together to achieve women’s rights in a variety of places.
Highlights
This article analyzes the status of women in contemporary Morocco
After independence (1956), secularism was viewed as a means to attain gender equality; today for many Islamists its links with the Western lifestyles and political systems that separate between religion and state are synonymous with imperialism and secularism, which are associated with secular-authoritarian regimes in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region
As a consequence of the advocacy of women’s groups, the Moroccan government has recently launched a campaign to fight against poverty and illiteracy among rural women, which had a great impact on poor women’s welfare and people’s attitudes toward women in general and toward their political participation
Summary
This article analyzes the status of women in contemporary Morocco. it is culturally varied, Morocco has many similarities with other Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries in relation to women that are significant and profound: a strong religion (Islam), co-habitation of tradition and modernity, and a transitional phase in the processes of democratization and development. Women’s issues have recently become an important political topic that attracts the attention of decision-makers, activists, researchers, and politicians Both women and men were involved in the birth of modern feminism. After independence (1956), secularism was viewed as a means to attain gender equality; today for many Islamists its links with the Western lifestyles and political systems that separate between religion and state are synonymous with imperialism and secularism, which are associated with secular-authoritarian regimes in the MENA region In response to this view, which equates feminism with Western imperialism, three major types of feminism in Morocco have emerged, each of which conveys progressive narratives on women’s rights: Islamic, reformist, and secularist [8,9,10]. Secular feminists see women’s rights as attainable only by means of the separation of state and Islam, while the Islamic and reformist feminists view women’s rights as consistent with Islam and only attainable through the positive interpretations of religious texts like the Qur’an (the holy book of Muslims) and the Hadith (The Prophet Muhammad’s sayings)
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