Kalima (magazine)

Moroccan women's magazine (1986–1989)

KalimaEditor| Hind Taarji

|

Categories|

* Women's magazine
* News magazine

Publisher| Nourreddine Ayouch
Founder| Union de l'Action Feminine
Founded| 1986
Final issue| April 1989
Country| Morocco
Language| French

Kalima (French: Word; the act of Speaking) was a monthly women's magazine and news magazine published in Morocco between 1986 and 1989. The magazine was a feminist publication and the first women's magazine in the country.[1]

## History and profile

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Kalima was established in 1986.[2] The founder was a radical women organization, Union de l'Action Feminine.[3] The publisher was Nourreddine Ayouch.[1]

The magazine's goal was to emphasize that "gender roles, sexuality, and even division of labor were neither divinely prescribed nor ordained by nature, but had a historical origin."[2] It adopted a progressive feminist stance in dealing with social, economic, political and cultural aspects of women's life.[4] It also addressed critical issues in Morocco,[5][6] including abandoned children in the country.[7] It was the first Moroccan magazine which contained articles on taboo subjects such as abortion, child prostitution, single mothers, drugs and sexuality.[8][9] In addition, Kalima included pages on news and on cinema.[10]

The founding and only editor-in-chief of the magazine was Hind Taarji.[4][11] Fatima Mernissi was among the contributors of Kalima.[12]

The Moroccan authorities confiscated the March 1989 issue of the magazine[5] which contained articles about male prostitution and the lack of free press in Morocco.[4][8] These publications led to the closure of the magazine on 25 April 1989.[13]

## References

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1. ^ a b James Sater (2002). "The dynamics of state and civil society in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 106–107. doi:10.1080/13629380208718476. S2CID 143790438.
2. ^ a b Fatima Sadiqi; Moha Ennaji (Spring 2006). "The feminization of public space: women's activism, the family law, and social change in Morocco". Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. 2 (2): 86–114. doi:10.2979/mew.2006.2.2.86. JSTOR 10.2979/mew.2006.2.2.86. S2CID 145775287.
3. ^ Valerie Orlando (2009). Francophone voices of the "new" Morocco in film and print. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 143\. ISBN 9780230622593.
4. ^ a b c Loubna H. Skalli (2006). Through a local prism: gender, globalization, and identity in Moroccan women's magazines. Lanham, MD; Boulder, CO: Lexington Books. pp. 64, 72. ISBN 9780739131251.
5. ^ a b "Morocco confiscates issue of magazine". Los Angeles Times. London. Associated Press. 7 May 1989. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
6. ^ Andrew R. Smith; Fadoua Loudiy (August 2005). "Testing the red lines: on the liberalization of speech in Morocco". Human Rights Quarterly. 27 (3): 1069–1119. doi:10.1353/hrq.2005.0042. JSTOR 20069820. S2CID 144368770.
7. ^ Bargach Jamila (2002). Orphans of Islam: Family, abandonment, and secret adoption in Morocco. Lanham, MD; Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 166\. ISBN 9780742500273.
8. ^ a b Marvine Howe (2005). Morocco: the Islamist awakening and other challenges. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 153\. ISBN 9780195346985.
9. ^ Eve Sandberg; Kenza Agertit (2014). Moroccan women, activists, and gender politics: An institutional analysis. Lanham, MD; Boulder, CO: Lexington Books. p. 70\. ISBN 9780739182109.
10. ^ Valerie Orlando (2011). Screening Morocco: contemporary depictions in film of a changing society. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. p. 18\. ISBN 9780896802810.
11. ^ Paul Delaney (6 January 1988). "In North Africa, feminists on diverging paths". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
12. ^ Jon Armajani (2004). Dynamic Islam: Liberal Muslim perspectives in a transnational age. Dallas, TX; Lanham, MD: University Press of America. p. 3\. ISBN 9780761829676.
13. ^ "Morocco" (Report). Human Rights Watch. 1989. Retrieved 26 April 2015.