Issued on: 17/03/2023 – 12:18
Morocco is usually hailed for its stability, its place as a regional chief in girls’s rights and for having a wealthy cultural historical past. But it surely’s nonetheless a largely male-dominated society. So what does that imply for girls within the arts? Eve Jackson meets three feminine creatives in and round Morocco’s frenetic business hub Casablanca, who’re making area for themselves of their craft through the use of their artwork to guard and rejoice their heritage, whereas on the identical time creating constructive conversations about topics generally thought of delicate within the kingdom.
We begin with Moroccan rapper Khtek aka Houda Abouz. In a rap scene dominated by males, she sings about gender equality and LGBT rights – her plan is to do a PhD in gender research. Psychological sickness can be an enormous subject for her. She started writing in 2016 however rose to fame in 2020 when she collaborated with three Moroccan rap stars: ElGrandeToto, Don Bigg and Draganov. That video has been considered 34 million occasions on YouTube.Morocco’s hip-hop scene was showcased again in 2021 with Nabil Ayouch’s “Casablanca Beats”. It was co-written by his spouse, Maryam Touzani, who can be one in every of Morocco’s main administrators. They frequently work collectively on tasks that discuss taboos in Moroccan society, resembling prostitution in “A lot Beloved” and homosexuality in Maryam’s newest movie, “The Blue Caftan”. She takes us to the centre of Casablanca’s medina, the place a few of it was filmed. Final however not final, we meet clothier Fadila El Gadi, just a little up the coast from Casablanca within the historical port metropolis of Salé. With a clientele of Saudi and Moroccan princesses, she’s additionally dressed notable girls resembling Paloma Picasso, Barbara Streisand, Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton. Fadila’s lasting legacy can also be the free faculty she opened in 2016 to show underprivileged kids the “dying artwork” of embroidery.
