Moroccan Feminist Discourses

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This book is both scholarly and personal. It is scholarly because it addresses and assesses the current Moroccan feminist discourses, a topic the author has been involved with for almost three decades, and it is personal because it brings along her Berber identity and seeks to reposition it vis-a-vis these feminist discourses.

Revisiting the Moroccan feminist discourses in the aftermath of the uprisings in the region which, among other things, brought about the spectacular change in the political status of Berber from an indigenous centuries-long marginalized language to an 'official language' of Morocco came with serious challenges to the feminist discourses by highlighting the stark absence of Berber, a women-related language, in these discourses.

The two recognized types of feminist discourse, the secular and Islamic ones, are not only divergent but suffer from a shortage in scope and discard the rich heritage, knowledge, and art that Berber women bring along to the Moroccan feminist discourses. Review: A valuable book, exploring and opening up a new and important terrain. - Leila Ahmed, Victor S.

Thomas Professor of Divinity, Harvard University, USA It is no accident that one of the foremost advocates of the Berber language is also a central voice in feminist scholarship in Morocco. Sadiqi weaves together the parallel stories of the Berber legacy and the rising tide of women's rights, demonstrating how both interacted with Islam to become enshrined in the new constitution during the 'Moroccan Spring' of 2011.

In her inimitable voice, she adds her personal journey, reminding us that feminism remains an unfinished story. - Ann Braude, Director of the Women's Studies in Religion Program, Harvard University, USA As Morocco extends and deepens its democratization process and the world becomes more attentive to developments there and elsewhere in North Africa, Sadiqi's brilliant analysis of the Berber dimension of the women's rights movement and socio-political change will be a central resource for years to come.

Sadiqi seamlessly weaves the personal, historical, and political to produce a rich and eminently readable narrative. - Valentine M. Moghadam, Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Northeastern University, USA