Amazigh Feminism Narratives: Aspirations, Agency, and Empowerment of Amazigh Women in the Southeast of Morocco

Abstract

Amazigh women's stories of adversities and struggles led to their portrayal as illiterate, in need of help and passive beneficiaries of aid. Many texts and media focus on investigating their marginalization, which reinforces the stereotypical image of Amazigh women as powerless. However, this dissertation from peace studies’ critical perspective makes a diagnosis of Amazigh women in southeast of Morocco’s hardships, struggles and adversities that are related to their socio-economic conditions, language, identity, and gender. And from a constructive perspective of peace studies, it sheds light on another side of the story about Amazigh women that has yet to be told. A story about their resilience and perseverance acting from grassroots level feminism consciousness transforming their reality and vulnerabilities into opportunities that empower them, their families, and communities, therefore leading to what we can name as Amazigh feminism. Thus, this doctoral dissertation, by balancing both lines of peace research in intersection with decolonial feminism using an ethnographic methodology, is a contribution to making visible the voices of Amazigh women in Morocco, highlighting their significant contributions to social change as active agents of civil society, feminist referents and as peacebuilders.