AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 5, Number4. October 2021                                 Pp.46-59
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol5no4.4

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Gender-Based Violence in Moroccan Folktales 

Fatima Zahra Touzani
Department of English
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
Email: fattouzani@gmail.com

 

Received: 9/12/2021               Accepted: 10/6/2021                Published: 10/24/2021

 

Abstract:
Men in Morocco have always employed many strategies whereby they have established their domination over women. Their patriarchal tendencies have proven incommensurable with the discourse of wisdom they purport to advocate. Accordingly, they have had to concoct elaborate stories and excuses to actualize their proclivities. Patriarchal hegemony has manifested itself in different ways and resulted in many phenomena, the most influential of which is undoubtedly violence against women that is predominant in the domestic sphere and the public sphere. This omnipresence accentuates through its portrayal in popular culture, including proverbs and folktales. Since folktales encapsulate a culture’s inherited customs, traditions, and values, this article’s primary concern is to investigate whether Moroccan folktales represent the logic dictated by Moroccan patriarchal institutions, aiming at reinforcing the oppression of women through violence. Specifically, the article seeks to address the representations of violence against women in folktales collected by Inea Bushnaq and Malika El Ouali Alami. The findings in this article prove that Moroccan folktales validate the Moroccan cultural norms that highlight the position of women as subordinate characters ready to follow the rules of patriarchal institutions. A recurrent theme throughout these tales is Gender-Based Violence. Thus, this article attempts to demonstrate the representations of GBV in Bushnaq’s and Alami’s tales.

Keywords: gender-based violence, Moroccan folktales, Arab Folktales by Inea Bushnaq, Kan Ya Ma Kan: Moroccan Folk Tales on Women by Malika Alami

Cite as:  Touzani, F. Z. (2021). Gender-Based Violence in Moroccan Folktales. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 5 (4) 46-59.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol5no4.4

References

Alami, M. E. (2013). Kan Ya Ma Kan: Moroccan Folktales on Women. Marrakech: Afaq.

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Bascom, W. (1954). Four Functions of Folklore. The Journal of American Folklore, 67 (266), 333-49.

Bushnaq, I. (1986). Arab Folktales. New York: Pantheon Books.

Krug, E. G., Dahlberg L. L., Mercy, J. A., Zwi, A. B., & Lozano R. (eds.). (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Mackay, F. (2021). Raising Awareness and Improving Responses to Gender-Based Violence: The Contribution of Feminist Thought and Activism. In C. Bradbury-Jones & L. Isham (Eds.), Understanding Gender-Based Violence: An Essential Textbook for Nurses, Healthcare Professionals and Social Workers (pp. 3-13). Cham: Springer.

Meurens, N., & Spanikova, H. (2017). Glossary of Definitions of Rape, Femicide and Intimate Partner Violence. Gedimino: European Institute for Gender Equality.

United Nations (1993). The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. Geneva: UN General Assembly.

Western, D. (2013). Gender-Based Violence and Depression in Women: A Feminist Group Response. New York: Springer.

 

 

 

 

 

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Received: 9/12/2021
Accepted: 10/6/2021
Published: 10/24/2021
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9385-2701
http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol5no4.4

Fatima Zahra Touzani is a Ph.D. researcher at Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Beni Mellal, Morocco. She has been teaching English at Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Sciences, Semlalia, Marrakech since 2019. Her major research areas are: postcolonial studies, modern poetry, and modern fiction. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9385-2701