Unveiling Moroccan Women’s Voices in Postcolonial Narratives

Abstract

Feminism and women’s oppression have been the subject of a long-standing fight throughout history, advocating for freedom, agency, and improved social status. In the past, both genders in many countries, mainly in Morocco, have experienced harsh situations related to colonialism and subordination. Both men and women in Morocco were aggressively oppressed by the colonialists, who invaded their freedom and restricted their agency. This study focuses mainly on how the colonial and postcolonial periods are represented in Moroccan literary novels, drawing on Leila Abouzeid's "Year of the Elephant" and "The Last Chapter", and Taher Benjelloun's "The Sand Child" to achieve the research objectives. As it raises the issue of gendered experiences in contemporary Moroccan literature, it also highlights a comparative study between Benjelloun and Abouzeid using a postcolonial theoretical approach. The applied framework reveals in-depth narratives and critiques that uncover the truth of colonial histories and their lasting impacts.

Moroccan men have been through a period of colonial resistance, a struggle for national identity, and the regaining of political and social rights in their pursuit of independence. However, when the struggle for independence was successfully concluded with women's help, the situation improved for men. They adopted aspects of colonial culture instead of rejecting it, which led to women facing a form of double colonization. As a result, a new era of struggle for gender equality has begun. Women faced continued inequality in a postcolonial society after men regained power and became the new colonialists. Consequently, this has created a spirit of activism and advocacy for women’s rights to challenge the system that encourages patriarchal norms and the cultural influences on women’s status. Furthermore, this research also focuses on an important factor that contributes to the double colonization, which is how patriarchal societies interpret Islamic texts to restrict women’s rights and freedom. As a final point, the findings of this study reveal that both authors examine and critique the intersection of Identity and gender in Morocco.

Keywords: Postcolonialism, Self-Desubalterization, Double Colonization, Gender, Identity, Religion.

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/16-1-06

Publication date: March 28th 2026