Moroccan book fair promotes women's literature

14/03/2008

The Moroccan city of Fez hosted a book fair this month devoted to women writers and bibliophiles. The event offered Moroccans the chance to meet writers and discuss gender issues, as well as enjoying various theatrical and musical displays.

By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 14/03/08

[Imane Belhaj] At a roundtable on the sidelines of the Morocco's first Women's Book Fair, held March 7th-8th in Fez, Feminine Creativity Association member Amina Megdoud highlighted Morocco's achievements in eliminating gender-based discrimination.

In what many are calling an exceptional cultural event of national significance, dozens of Moroccan writers, poets and literary publishers convened March 7th in Fez for the first-ever Women's Book Fair.

Female academics, students, activists, journalists and housewives attended the two-day event entitled "Female Writers of Yesterday and Today". Many participants remarked that female writers are no longer confined to addressing only women's issues but are now exploring contemporary subjects exactly as discussed and analysed by their male peers.

The strong participation and turnout is credited to growing recognition of women's cultural contributions, Feminine Creativity Association President Khadija Tanana told Magharebia, adding that the fair was successful because it focused exclusively on female literary pioneers. Her group – one of the oldest defenders of women's rights in Morocco – co-sponsored the event with the Mubadarat (Initiatives) Association.

"We felt that women's creative writings, when duly highlighted, become significantly prominent. However, when they are presented in a joint space with men's writings, the latter's writings dominate," Tanana said. "In ordinary book fairs, important women's books would be kept on shelves. [They] don't appear amidst the congestion of writings," she explained.

Roughly 85% of attendance was Moroccan and Arab female writers, Tanana said, noting that their "presence was strong in different fields: stories, novels, political, scientific and sociological and other books."

According to writer Fatima Sadiki, however, "Women's writing in Morocco is still limited in spite of the accumulation that took place in recent years." She added, "There are promising voices in poetry, but we are still lacking talents in female novelists."

Sadiki also pointed out that some women seem more interested in writing in French than in Arabic. She suggested that they must find it easier to express taboo subjects more freely in others' language than in their own.

The fair included a stage play, book signings by prominent female authors Wafaa Melih, Rabiaa Rihan, Anissa Deraz, Fatima Sadiki, Mounia Belafia and Rkia Mosadeq, and a concert featuring distinguished Moroccan soprano Samira Kadiri.

A roundtable on achieving gender equality in the Arab world was also organised on the sidelines of the fair. The forum presented an opportunity to shed light on achievements made by Morocco in realising equality and eliminating gender-based discrimination, said Feminine Creativity Association member Amina Megdoud.

Discussions focused on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Professor Megdoud explained. Roundtable participants were also able to explain and simplify the third and fourth periodic reports presented by Morocco to the United Nations on January 21st, regarding women's associations in the central Moroccan region of Fez-Boulmane.