The New Dynamics of Islam and Feminism in Morocco

Rutgers interviews Zakia Salime, author of BETWEEN FEMINISM AND ISLAM.

Salime_Between coverZakia Salime is driven by a desire to understand how people become marginalized.

"It’s something very personal in my consciousness,” said Salime, a professor in the departments of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies, in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Salime grew up in Morocco, where her father was active in the resistance movement that helped the country win independence in 1956.  In the years following independence, Salime was among the first waves of Moroccan women to have full access to the public education system.

“My family was very much embedded in the modernist idea of the (independence) movement,” she said. “It was that movement which unveiled women, encouraged their public participation, and opened schools for boys and girls.”

But in 2000, when women’s groups and their supporters sought to reform Morocco’s patriarchal marriage and family laws, Salime watched with surprise as a powerful movement of Moroccan women emerged to oppose the reforms.

Read the full article.

Published in: Rutgers University website
By: John Chadwick