Gender Inequality in Morocco: Destabilization and Continuity

Introduction

In an article, professor and researcher Fatima Sadiqi recalls working with female colleagues to establish Morocco’s first Center for Studies and Research on Women in 1996.[1] Their success in launching the Center led Sadiqi and her co-founders to create the country’s first Gender Studies Graduate Unit in 2000.[2] At the time, Sadiqi was teaching at the University of Fès where, like most female professors,[3] she confronted the glass ceiling hindering the advancement of women’s academic careers. Sadiqi remembers a doctoral student who was looking for a thesis advisor.[4] After opening the door to Sadiqi’s office, the student discovered that “Dr. Sadiqi” was, in fact, a woman; the student excused himself immediately and left.[5] This doctoral candidate missed an opportunity given that Sadiqi’s partner, Moha Ennaji, whose professional background mirrors her own, has claimed that Sadiqi works more than he does.[6]