Women and sustainable development in Morocco

The 'Aït Sadden' Association for cultural and sustainable development organizes the IRDAN Festival every year. This Festival is one of the regional events aiming, inter alia, the enhancement of the Heritage and of the potentialities in human and natural resources of the Region of Fès. The Association organizes this prestigious event in partnership with the Council and the Region of Fès, municipalities like Bir Tamtam and Ras Taboula, as well as economic factors of the Kingdom. This Festival benefits from the participation of many actors (researchers, artists, NGOs, businessmen) from different regions of Morocco.

 

 

In August 2013, in the framework of the activities of the Festival, the Association made tribute to the international artist Fatema Binet Ouakka. This artist, native of the region, is still attached to her roots: the tribe of Aït Sadden represents the women of Aït Sadden. The choice of this tribute is not due to chance, but to the extraordinary artist’s career that has been chosen by a multidisciplinary commission.

Fatema Binet Ouakka has been asked to participate in mentoring and for the animation of a day for the benefit of the women of the tribe. The meeting, organized with the assistance of the National Council of Human Rights, and the Regional Council of investment of the Fès Boulemane region - which had for theme 'The rights of rural women to development' - had the participation of a hundred of women from different douars of the tribe.

Several goals have been the source of this encounter:
. Educating rural women to understand their rights to development in general
. Raise awareness of rural women to the benefits of schooling for their daughters, and to fight against illiteracy
. Raise awareness of rural women to the interest to organize themselves in associations or cooperatives to benefit from financing offers that are proposed by both national and international organizations, with the goal to improve their framework and their standard of living.
. Raise awareness of rural women in the gender approach

Artist Fatema succeeded to the meeting with the rural women 'Aït Sadden' a very concrete opportunity of awareness and of motivation for those women to organize themselves into association. The aim being, in one hand, to upgrade their artisanal production, and, on the other hand, to put forward their contemporary creations. Next April, the Association will organize the 'World Art Day'. A first in Morocco, Fatema being named to be the representative of the Association in charge of the International relations.