Fatna El Bouih

Last updated

Fatna El Bouih (born 1956) is a Moroccan human rights activist and writer. Imprisoned for five years during the Years of Lead, she continued her work, particularly as an advocate for women's rights, on her release. Her memoir of her experience during the Years of Lead was published in English translation as Talk of Darkness in 2008.

Contents

Biography

Fatna El Bouih was born in 1956 in Ben Ahmed, Morocco. Her father, a teacher, encouraged her to go to school. [1]

As a student during the Years of Lead, she became an activist with the leftist youth protest movement, calling for democracy as a member of the National Union of High School Students. She was arrested in 1974 as a leader of a high school student strike, but she was released after a night in jail. She became a leader of Harakat 23 Mars . [2] In 1977, she was arrested again during the mass arrests of members of the "March 23" Marxist group. This time, she spent five years in prison, during which she was tortured at Derb Moulay Cherif. [2] However, thanks to a solidarity movement among the inmates, she was able to gain better detention conditions, political prisoner status, and the opportunity to continue her studies. She earned a bachelor's and master's degree while in prison. [3] [4]

After leaving prison, El Bouih taught Arabic at a school in Casablanca and began writing articles and stories. She joined the Union de l’Action Féminine (the Union of Women's Action), led by Latifa Jbabdi, who had also been a political prisoner in the 1970s. A few years later, she became a founding member of the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons and the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice, both founded in 1999 at the end of the Years of Lead. The Forum for Truth and Justice was the first organization for political victims of the Years of Lead, a precursor to the Equity and Reconciliation Commission that was created in 2004 by King Mohammed VI, who succeeded Hassan II in 1999. El Bouih has also worked with the National Institute for Solidarity with Women in Distress to support women who are struggling, particularly pregnant women who are incarcerated. [1] [3]

El Bouih has written several books and other publications on the Years of Lead, the fate of political prisoners, and violence against women. Her first book, a memoir of her experiences titled Hadit al-atama, was published in 2001; it was released in French a year later under the name Une femme nommée Rachid, and in English in 2008 under the name Talk of Darkness. Other notable works include Atlasyat: témoignages des coulisses de l'histoire (2006). [5] [6] [7] [8]

See Also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yusef of Morocco</span> Sultan of Morocco from 1912 to 1927

MoulayYusef ben Hassan, born in Meknes on 1882 and died in Fes in 1927, was the 'Alawi sultan of Morocco from 1912 to 1927. He was the son of Hassan I of Morocco, who was the son of Muhammad IV of Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Casablanca bombings</span> Series of suicide bombings by Salafia Jihadia militants

The 2003 Casablanca bombings, commonly known as May 16, were a series of coordinated suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. That night, twelve suicide bombers loyal to Salafia Jihadia organization detonated a bombs hidden in their backpacks in the Casa de España restaurant, the Hotel Farah, the Jewish Alliance of Casablanca, and sites near the Belgian consulate and an old Jewish cemetery. The attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history, claiming the lives of forty-five people and injuring at least 100. Despite their deliberate targeting of Jews, none of the victims were Jews as the attack occurred during Shabbat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco</span> Prince of Morocco (born 1970)

Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, also known as Prince Moulay Rachid ben al-Hassan, is a member of the Alawi dynasty. He was the youngest child of the late King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa. He holds a doctorate in international politics. He is currently second in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco</span> Daughter of King Hassan II

Princess Lalla Meryem is the first daughter and eldest child of the late King Hassan II of Morocco and his wife, Princess Lalla Latifa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Lalla Asma of Morocco</span> Princess of Morocco

Princess Lalla Asma of Morocco is the second daughter and third eldest child of King Hassan II of Morocco and his wife, Princess Lalla Latifa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalla Latifa</span> Princess Dowager

Princess Lalla Latifa née: Amahzoune; is the widow of King Hassan II of Morocco, and the mother of King Mohammed VI, Princesses Lalla Meryem, Lalla Asma, Lalla Hasna, and Prince Moulay Rachid.

Christine Daure-Serfaty was a French human rights activist and writer who distinguished herself in Morocco where she embraced the fight of the victims of King Hassan II, during the "Years of Lead," and from afar, played a major role in the evolution of the regime and the human rights in Morocco. She was the wife of Abraham Serfaty, a Moroccan dissident. In 1974 Abraham Serfaty was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was in September 1999 that the new Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, permitted Abraham Serfaty’s return to Morocco.

Fouzia Rhissassi is a Moroccan professor of social sciences at the faculty of arts at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco. Currently she holds a position of the UNESCO Chair on Women Rights.

Touria Oulehri is a Moroccan novelist and academic. Her novels focus on the experiences and challenges faced by Moroccan women.

Rita El Khayat also known as "Ghita". Ghita El Khayat,, is Moroccan psychiatrist, anthro-psychoanalyst, writer, and anthropologist. She studied at modern schools of Rabat and completed her graduation in the field of Psychiatry, Psychoanalyst and Medical Aerospace from Paris whereas graduation in Ergonomics and Occupational Medicine were completed from Bordeaux. She did her PhD in Anthropology of Arab World from.

Latifa Labida is a Moroccan politician. Between 2007 and 2012, she was Secretary of State for Education in the cabinet of Abbas El Fassi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latifa Akherbach</span> Moroccan politician and journalist

Latifa Akherbach is a Moroccan politician and journalist. Between 2007 and 2012, she was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Abbas El Fassi.

Saida Menebhi was a Moroccan poet, high school teacher, and activist with the Marxist revolutionary movement Ila al-Amam. In 1975, she, together with five other members of the movement, was sentenced for seven years of imprisonment for anti-state activity. On November 8, 1977, inside the jail in Casablanca, she participated in a collective hunger strike, and died on the 35th day of the strike at Avicenne Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leïla Slimani</span> Franco-Moroccan writer

Leïla Slimani is a Franco-Moroccan writer and journalist. She is also a French diplomat in her capacity as the personal representative of the French president Emmanuel Macron to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. In 2016 she was awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel Chanson douce.

Latifa El Bouhsini is a university professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences in Rabat, and has been a member of the National Office of the School of Citizenship for Political Studies, ECEP, in Rabat since 2012. Bouhsini is also a member of the national office of the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights She is a writer and a leftist feminist activist who holds a PhD in history and civilizations and writes prolifically about the history of the feminist movement in Morocco. Bouhsini is also a trainer specialized in gender and women's rights, and she is a speaker at the National Human Rights Council.

Latifa Jbabdi is a Moroccan feminist activist and writer. She is best known for her work to help improve women's rights through reforming the Mudawana, Morocco's legal code governing family life. She also served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.

Derb Moulay Cherif is a neighborhood in Hay Mohammadi, Casablanca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amina Rachid</span> Moroccan actress (1936–2019)

Amina Rachid was a Moroccan actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Terrab</span>

Sonia Terrab is a Moroccan writer, filmmaker, and activist. Her work revolves around the status of women in Moroccan society, social hypocrisy regarding the body and sexuality, and Moroccan youth.

Layla Chaouni, also known as Layla Chaouni Benabdallah, is a Moroccan publisher and activist for Human and Women's Rights. She is best known as director of her publishing company Éditions Le Fennec, having published more than 500 titles both in French and Arabic.

References

  1. 1 2 Casti, Danilo (2008-05-16). "Fatna El Bouih «Une femme nommée Rachid»". La Gazette du Maroc. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  2. 1 2 Brown, Claudia (2001-04-13). "Morocco's Survivors / Activists shed light on 'dark years". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  3. 1 2 Le dictionnaire universel des créatrices. Didier, Béatrice., Fouque, Antoinette., Calle-Gruber, Mireille, 1945-. Paris: Des femmes-A. Fouque. 2013. ISBN   978-2-7210-0631-8. OCLC   864873770.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ↑ Bīh, Fāṭinah. (2008). Talk of darkness. Kamal, Mustapha., Slyomovics, Susan. Austin, TX: Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. ISBN   978-0-292-71915-6. OCLC   271772060.
  5. ↑ Ghachem, Béchir (2018-06-15). "Genre, mémoire, témoignage. De la violence carcérale de genre dans les années de plomb au Maroc à travers l'écriture testimoniale de Fatna El Bouih". Université Lumière Lyon 2 (in French): 198.
  6. ↑ Chabaa, Qods (2016-03-18). "Prix Littéraire Sofitel Tour Blanche: Fatna El Bouih remporte le premier Prix". Le 360 (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  7. ↑ Palou, Anthony (2016-03-21). "4e édition du Prix littéraire féminin du Sofitel Tour Blanche". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  8. ↑ Orlando, Valérie K. (2010-09-01). "Feminine spaces and places in the dark recesses of Morocco's past: the prison testimonials in poetry and prose of Saïda Menebhi and Fatna El Bouih". The Journal of North African Studies. 15 (3): 273–288. doi:10.1080/13629380902745884. ISSN   1362-9387. S2CID   143905923.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.