Category Archives: HUMAN RIGHTS

Children Anonymous

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a recent report titled “Lonely Servitude: Child Domestic Labor in Morocco,” published in November 15th, 2012, wrote that the data it compiled between April and August of 2012 suggests the number of child domestic workers … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdelilah Benkirane, Child Abuse, Child Labor, Children, HUMAN RIGHTS, Human Rights Watch | Tagged | Leave a comment

Coming Out Of The Political Closet

Posted on August 23, 2012 by

Many see Abdelilah Benkirane’s moments of candor and transparency as a breath of fresh air in Morocco’s political governance today. In a clear departure from the false demagoguery proffered by previous prime ministers, he provides a glimpse of a pervasive … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdelilah Benkirane, Ahmed Akhchichine, Arab Spring, Fouad Ali El Himma, HUMAN RIGHTS, Mohamed El Ouafa, Moroccan Constitution 2011, Moroccan Initiative, MOROCCAN JUSTICE, MOROCCO, Morocco Legislative Election 2011, Mounir Majidi, Partie de Justice and Development, Salaheddine Mezouar | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Morocco’s Great Illusion

Posted on July 7, 2012 by

For the past three months, I have been struggling with the notion that Joseph de Maistre’s famous “every country has the government it deserves,” found in his “Lettres et Opuscules Inédits vol. 1, letter 53,” is indeed an accurate delineation … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdelilah Benkirane, Child Labor, Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE, Moroccan Initiative, MOROCCAN JUSTICE, MOROCCO, Mummar Qaddafi | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The New Court Jester

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

Before he uttered a word, Mr. Abdelilah Benkirane, the new Moroccan Prime Minister, was made to understand he will be challenged. As he stood before the lectern to address Morocco’s bicameral Parliament, parliamentarian women stood up holding printed slogans expressing … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdelilah Benkirane, Arab World, Democracy, Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO, POVERTY | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Lonely Death of a Moroccan Child

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

For an hour, in the sanctum of an apartment in El Jadida, the maid was beaten with the hose of a gas cylinder. Her screams and supplications brought her aggressor, the daughter of her employer who “borrowed” her to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Abuse, Child Labor, Children, HUMAN RIGHTS, POVERTY, Uncategorized, Women's rights | Tagged | 9 Comments

Moroccan Hospitals: Poor People Unwanted

Posted on August 17, 2011 by

Dismayed by the lack of official responsiveness to the humanitarian tragedy in southern Somalia, a group of Moroccan activists launched a campaign on facebook to sensitize the population, mobilize support, and solicit donations. They called on the Moroccan government to … Continue reading →

Posted in Al Masae, Children, Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCO, POVERTY | Tagged | 7 Comments

Morocco’s Constitutional Sleight of Hand

Posted on July 13, 2011 by

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights – Association Marocaine des Droits Humains (AMDH) made public today, Tuesday July 12th, a pointed report on the July 1st constitutional referendum. It noted the government orchestrated grave transgressions that undermined the electoral process … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, Khaled Naceri, Moroccan Constitution 2011, MOROCCO | Tagged | 2 Comments

Moroccan Democratic Reform: Between the Baton and the King’s Speech

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

There is a consensus among Moroccans that the brutal clampdown of demonstrators was ordered by Moroccan Interior Minister Taieb Cherkaoui who in turn received his guidance from his King. Many believed that after Mohammed VI’s bulleted speech outlining his schedule … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, Mawazine, MOROCCO | Tagged | 7 Comments

If Fadoua Laroui Had a Suicide Vest…

Posted on March 8, 2011 by

A misguided notion seems prevalent among Moroccan reformists today; they believe the removal of a corrupt elite will overnight purge the system of all actus reus and mens rea. A revolution for a democratic Morocco where the king is stripped … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Fedoua Laroui, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCAN JUSTICE | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Morocco’s wii Version of Human Rights

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

2010 expired leaving us with the certitude that the Moroccan government is unable to rise above the impulse to castigate the critical voice that decries the quiddity of its policies. The youth who was arbitrarily arrested and sentenced for attempting … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, Liu Xiaobo, MOROCCO, Nobel Peace Prize | Tagged | 4 Comments

The King’s Acolytes and 35 Million Punching Bags

Posted on May 29, 2010 by

Khaled Naceri, Morocco’s minister of communication and the government ‘spokesperson, accorded Akhbar El Youm Al Maghrebia an exclusive interview to disambiguate the unfortunate events a mundane traffic altercation triggered last Friday. According to eyewitness accounts and a widely disseminated youtube … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, Khaled Naceri, MOROCCAN JUSTICE | Tagged | 5 Comments

The State of the Moroccan Woman

Posted on March 31, 2010 by

In a recent interview on 2M, Nouzha Skalli, Morocco’s minister of social development, family, and solidarity, commented on allegations made by Najlae Lhimer saying that in today’s Morocco, there are no arranged marriages. Lhimer is a Moroccan teenager who allegedly … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCO, Women's rights | Tagged | 5 Comments

Who’s Your Daddy, Jesus or the King?

Posted on March 16, 2010 by

Two days after the abrupt and discourteous expulsion of 16 Christian aid workers and their biological dependents, Morocco’s communication minister Khaled Naceri described the government’s action as enforcement of the country’s adoption laws and not an attack on their faith. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCO, Village of Hope | Tagged | 9 Comments

The Hunt For Moroccan Militant Bloggers

Posted on February 3, 2010 by

Moroccan blogger and free speech militant Boubaker Al-Yadib was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $62 by a court in Guelmim. He was charged with vandalizing government property, unlicensed picketing, and assaulting a police officer. Observers believe the charges were fabricated and … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCO | Tagged | 3 Comments

Human Rights in Morocco: The 2010 Reports

Posted on February 1, 2010 by

I was reading Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) for my daily dose of indoctrination, my mind unfocused on reality, when I came across an interestingly ironic piece of information. It jolted me the way you would be if your butt were griped … Continue reading →

Posted in Arab World, Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO | Tagged | 2 Comments

Falling From The King’s Grace

Posted on January 14, 2010 by

In the first week of 2010, Morocco has witnessed two momentous events that will undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the year. They are harbingers of a positive institutional shift toward apolitical social development and equity. Or are … Continue reading →

Posted in Algeria, Democracy, Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO, Western Sahara | Tagged | 2 Comments

Enough With The Mindless Chauvinism

Posted on December 16, 2009 by

To read the urgent rallying cries in the slogan riddled open letters and petitions circulated by some Moroccan associations in the U.S. against the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights for its support of Aminatou Haider, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Algeria, Aminatou Haider, Democracy, Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

I Sadly Announce The Arrest of A Moroccan Blogger

Posted on December 12, 2009 by

The Moroccan Bloggers Association announced that on December 7, 2009, three days before the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Moroccan security forces arrested Bashir Hazam, a 26 years old blogger, for reporting on the violent suppressive operation … Continue reading →

Posted in Bashir Hazam, Democracy, HUMAN RIGHTS, MOROCCO | Tagged | 9 Comments

I Am Pregnant And I Exist

Posted on October 30, 2009 by

In an already bifurcated country, The November issue of Femmes du Maroc – Women of Morocco, a Moroccan magazine that caters to the interests of Moroccan women with a panoply of feminine subjects is bound to turn into lascivious fodder … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO, Uncategorized | Tagged | 35 Comments

About Face

Posted on October 19, 2009 by

If you want to find journalists, human rights activists, and bloggers that speak their mind in Morocco today, look first in the government’s prisons. Then, check the holding pens of the country’s judicial system. You will find them clustered in groups … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Freedom of the Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, Individual Freedom, MOROCCO | Tagged | 1 Comment