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2008-06-20
Tetouan festival places spotlight on Moroccan women
By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 20/06/08
The Voix de Femmes association announced last week that from July 3rd-5th it will organise the first "Voix de femmes, voies du future" (Voices of women, paths to the future) festival in the Mediterranean town of Tetouan.
The three-day festival will give the public an opportunity to discover a plethora of events highlighting women's contributions to Morocco's creation and development. The festival programme features a number of local, national and international artists who will entertain Tetouan and its visitors during the summer holidays.
Performances by top Moroccan singers Asmae El Menawar and Samira Said are expected to draw an enthusiastic crowd. Lebanese diva Majda Roumi will give her second-ever performance in Morocco after her appearance earlier this year at the Sacred Music Festival in Fez. Frenchwoman Enzo Enzo and Iberian group Hanin Y Son Cubano are also expected. Rounding out the line-up is a wealth of young Moroccan talent, including Rachida Talal, Khansae, Nouhad and Nabila Amaan.
![[Hassan Benmehdi] "Voix de Femmes" association President Karima Benyaiche said her July festival will pay tribute to the women of Tetouan "who have worked with dignity and great courage for twelve centuries".](/awi/images/2008/06/20/080620Hassanfeaturephoto-650_429.jpg)
Voix de Femmes association President Karima Benyaiche said the event has a number of objectives. Benyaiche said she hopes to get the "lifeblood of Tetouan" involved in an action-generating project promoting sustainable development and the values of openness, dialogue and cultural exchange.
The festival plans to accomplish this by paying tribute to all the women of Tetouan "who have worked with dignity and great courage for twelve centuries to build their town while preserving its authenticity and diversity".
Benyaiche also said the festival aims to lift the spirits of local women in varied fields who have been active for years.
"In today’s Morocco women play a major role in the process of building a modern and democratic society," she said, concluding that "above all, the festival is a tribute to women."
Saad Kettani, head of the Fondation 1,200 Ans en Maroc (1,200 Years in Morocco Foundation), said that the Tetouan festival will serve as a reminder of Morocco’s desire to continue promoting and taking pride in its history and cultural legacy.
Afifa El Ghoufali, a member of a women’s association in Casablanca, called on individuals and the authorities to support the festival and told Magharebia the event "gives women the opportunity to showcase their vision, their uniqueness and above all their talent."
The Voix de Femmes association was created in July 2007 to promote women's role in passing on Tetouan's cultural identity to future generations.
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POST YOUR COMMENT 11
عائشة 2011-2-12
Salam alikum. Honestly, the festival in its first edition was good in terms of organization and choice of artists. However, the last was in reality lacking in organization. I hope Tetouan Festival 2011 will be better. Thank you!
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ماجد 2009-6-10
Nice pages.
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BENIAICHE ABDELLALI 2008-12-17
HORRIBLE .NO COMMENT.
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mohamed and othman 2008-12-16
what is gender gap?
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Anonymous 2008-7-3
Hello, I think that it is good to organise festivals like this one in Tetouan, but, at least on the Internet, there is a lack of precise information about the programme (for example: the exact place and the schedule). Please make an effort to do this. Stay strong!
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Anonymous 2008-6-25
Bravo Magharebia! Long live the freedom of the Muslim women! We can see half her breast in this photo!!!
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omar ochod 2008-6-23
I am a teacher in Agadir and I can say that Morocco is a state of injustice and exploitation. There is no harm in being born in Morocco. The harm is in living in it.
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السعيداني الميلودي 2008-6-22
“In Today’s Morocco, women play a major role in building a modern and democratic society”; this was the statement of Karima Benayach about the goal of the festival. We fear that the hidden goals of such festivals are early and illegitimate electoral campaigns and marches under the cover of art in favour of “Today’s Morocco for a modern and democratic society” which is the movement of Al Himma that is active on the artistic scene and creates dynamic associations.
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saidani miloudi 2008-6-22
I wonder why Queen Lalla Selma's high patronage has been excluded from the accepted rules of festival organizing.Why should Lhajja Lhamdawia not be included in the list of popular Moroccan singers? Is it because she's a Doukkalia not from Tetuan?
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hellal 2008-6-21
Hello. What is going on here in this seriously sick Maghreb? Money is the vast belly that is swallowing its children just like scorpions eat their offspring, except that the surviving females who reach maturity eat the males in order to save themselves. The state has Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Montesquieu, Bonaparte, the Roman canons, Mao, George Washington, Mohammed and so on, but what role do the Maghrebis play in the education of our Harkis?
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mehdy 2008-6-21
We must pay tribute to all Moroccan women in general and not just pay tribute to them in particular in a special region. There are women in Morocco who are laying significant roles in courage and strength in different fields in the Moroccan society. In my opinion, paying tribute shouldn’t be restricted to women who have degrees in general but even women who don’t have degrees should be honoured. As they have an important role in society by working side by side with man in the factory and different institutes. They also complete the role of women in society which is shared between men and women. All Moroccan women deserve honouring with their continuous creativity whether they have high degrees such as the doctorate or women who have experience, profession and simple technique. Paying tribute to women in general increases their persistence towards more work and progress in building society. Now the woman is half the society. I hope that you will accept my suggestions. I wish you success and progress in building the dear nation…
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