Her real name is Marie-Yvonne Gabay, but she took the surname Kakon after her marriage to the famous architect Aimé Kakon, with whom she had four children. As for the people of Marrakech, among whom she lived, they call her “Maryam, Dina’s daughter”, in reference to her mother, whose origins go back to Essaouira.
Maguy Kakon was born in 1953 into a Moroccan Jewish and Amazigh family, living in the ochre city. Her father, David Gabay, originally from the Agdz region, owned a factory that made him one of the richest people in Marrakech, before moving with his family to Paris in 1971.
Maguy Kakon studied at the French mission in Marrakech until she graduated with her baccalaureate. She then went on to pursue higher education in Switzerland, before returning to Morocco after her marriage to settle in Casablanca where she studied law at Hassan II University.
Passionate about politics since her youth, she has been involved in voluntary work since 1976, but was unable to embark on a political career because her husband was against it, fearing for her of being oppressed by the authorities in the era of what are commonly known as years of leaden.
However, she was the first Jewish woman to stand as a candidate in Morocco’s legislative elections. It was in 2007, when she was at the top of the list of women from the Social Center Party, but she could not be elected. As a result, her dream of entering parliament to defend the rights of the Jewish and Muslim voters who voted for her evaporated.
Maguy Kakon, who lives between Casablanca, Paris and Miami, is known for her strong attachment to her Moroccan Amazigh traditions. She constantly reminds us in her statements to the press that Jews have lived in Morocco for thousands of years, even before the arrival of the Arabs. To date, she has only Moroccan nationality, although she frequently visits Israel, where her mother and younger sister reside.
Maguy Kakon is an eager defender of women’s rights. She pays special attention to the issue of education in addition to that of people with chronic illnesses. She is also one of those who are campaigning for the rewriting of Moroccan history to include the Hebrew component, which is considered one of the most important cultural and identity tributaries.
Maguy Kakon is also a writer. She has published two books, La Cuisine juive du Maroc de mère en fille and Traditions et coutumes des Juifs du Maroc.
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