The Status of Black Moroccan Women: Color and Gender Stigmas

This paper investigates the status of black Moroccan women, not just as key members of society but as a social category subject to doubled stigmatization–the gendered stigmatization of being a «woman» and the racialized stigmatization of being «black». Various forms of discrimination inflicted upon black women will be examined, highlighting both the racism and patriarchy in the Moroccan society. This study specifically focuses on the way such discrimination manifests in the public sphere through the verbal abuse inflicted on black women in Morocco, particularly the term azziya and the functions it serves in communicating the social status of black Moroccan women. The paper further exposes the absence of feminist concern with issues faced by black women in Morocco and the obstacles that prevent the emergence of a «black feminism» in the country.

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This paper investigates the status of black Moroccan women, not just as key members of society but as a social category subject to doubled stigmatization–the gendered stigmatization of being a «woman» and the racialized stigmatization of being «black». Various forms of discrimination inflicted upon black women will be examined, highlighting both the racism and patriarchy in the Moroccan society. This study specifically focuses on the way such discrimination manifests in the public sphere through the verbal abuse inflicted on black women in Morocco, particularly the term azziya and the functions it serves in communicating the social status of black Moroccan women. The paper further exposes the absence of feminist concern with issues faced by black women in Morocco and the obstacles that prevent the emergence of a «black feminism» in the country.

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