Aicha Chenna: an Activist of the Protectorate Era

Aisha Shanna is one of the most respected figures by the majority of Moroccans. She also receives the respect of the Moroccan king Mohammed the sixth where he once donated a large sums of money to her NGO and helped her with the cost treatment of her disease.

“Hajja laziza”, the cherished Hajja, as her friends would like to call her after her performance of the pilgrimage, is one of the most famous female militants in the country. She defends the rights of single mothers and plays the role of a mother to every single woman in need. Although Shanna is against sexual relationships outside the institution of marriage, still her activity as a women rights activist brings her a lot of criticism from conservatives who said that she encourages moral deviance and depravity.

Aisha broke out her work as women rights activist very earlier as her dedication to women and their health was intuitively born with her. She announced that when she first established her NGO in 1985 under the name “Feminist Solidarity”. Inside the NGO, women in need and especially single mothers happened to have trainings on trades such as tailoring, cooking along with accounting. Shenna helped those women to learn how to be independent and easily integrate in the community.

Aisha was born during the era of protection; she spent her childhood in Marrakesh before she moved to Casablanca living with one of her family to continue her study at the French School of the city. 

1 Comment

  1. I want to publicly thank Aisha Chenna for helping me to make a documentary film showing what is at stake for single mothers and their illegitimate children. “Bastards” proves that Moroccan law is geared up to help women and children achieve their rights. Even if there is some way to go – Aisha Chenna, ASF and many other NGOs across the country will battle on – there is a positive story to tell in Morocco, which is light years ahead of some other Muslim countries.
    (Bastards is available on iTunes and Amazon Video https://itunes.apple.com/gb/movie/bastards-2013/id898231385 )

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