Women from Morocco

"Happiness was when there was a balance between what you gave and what you took"

"Pessimism is the luxury of the powerful."

"Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eye of its beholder turn the educated modern Western women into a harem slave."

"Beauty is in the skin!"

"But when your situation is hopeless, all you can do is turn the world upside down, transform it according to your wishes, and create anew."

"There are many ways to be beautiful. Fighting, swearing, and ignoring tradition could make a women irresistible."

"She would take him to faraway lands to observe foreign ways, so he could get closer to the strangeness within himself."

"I asked Mina how would I know on which side I stood. Her answer was quick, short, and very clear - If you can't get out, you are on the powerless side."

"But since then, looking for the frontier has become my life’s occupation. Anxiety eats at me whenever I cannot situate the geometric line organizing my powerlessness.”"

"But it was the radio incident that taught me an important lesson. It was then that Mother told me about the need to chew my words before letting them out. ‘Turn each word around your tongue seven times, with your lips tightly shut, before uttering a sentence,’ she said. ‘Because once your words are out, you might lose a lot.’”"

"To make babies, the bride and groom had to dress up nicely, put flowers in their hair and lie down together on a very big bed. The next thing you knew, many mornings later, there was a little baby crawling between them""

"Sometimes, she said that to be stuck in a harem simply meant that a woman had lost her freedom of movement. Other times, she said that a harem meant misfortune because a woman had to share her husband with many others""

"The French do not imprison their wives behind walls, my dear mother-in-law,' she would say. 'They let them run wild in the local souk (market), and everyone had fun, and sill the work gets done'""

"Mothers should tell little girls and boys about the importance of dreams,' Aunt Habiba said. 'They give a sense direction. It is not enough to reject this courtyard--you need to have a vision of the meadows with which you want to replace it.' But how, I asked Aunt Habiba, could you distinguish among all the wishes, all the cravings which besieged you, and find the one on which you ought to focus, the important dream that gave you vision? She said that little children had to be patient, the key dream would emerge and bloom within, and then, from the intense pleasure it gave you, you would know that that it was the genuine little treasure which would give you direction and light."

"Love is the key to happiness and continuity."

"Ramadan in Canada certainly does not have the Meknès flavor or the family atmosphere, in the broad sense. Of course, on a small scale, with my husband and my children, we create the right conditions to fully experience our Ramadan with its spirituality as well as its chhiouates, but what we miss are the voices of the Muezzen rising from all the minarets of the city, in a natural harmony at the time of breaking the fast."

"I simply like barbecue, grilling, but the flavor of my mother's kefta mechouiya and mderbel eggplant tagine is unique and I can't find it anywhere else!"

"In general, I listen to the news and watch a few shows that deal with current affairs such as "Mais encore..." or "Grand angle". During the month of Ramadan, it is especially the lightness of the hidden camera that amuses me."

"In my opinion, we do not assert ourselves by gender but by the relevance of ideas and firmness in positions, we also assert ourselves when we move things forward towards new horizons and we assert ourselves especially when we never give up a just fight."

"The first challenge is to ensure that the team works in a complementary and harmonious manner. Beyond the pleasant atmosphere it can create when it is united, its productivity can be surprising."

"The government will press ahead with the generalization of mandatory health coverage, financial assistance to needy families, and will launch the generalization of the pension system, as it also continues the reform of the health and education sectors."

"We are also counting on the confidence of local and foreign investors who always maintain the pace of their investments to create employment opportunities and strengthen growth."

"In addition, the award of the organisation of two mega football events, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025 and the 2030 World Cup [shared with Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay], constitutes a great opportunity for our country, and should certainly further energise our territories and have a great impact on growth and employment."

"Morocco also braces for the launch of major infrastructure projects as it prepares to host the 2030 World Cup and as it continues post-earthquake relief along with reconstruction of homes and facilities destroyed by the recent floods."

"we have chosen to provide targeted subsidies by the state so that there is no impact on the entire economy. (...) I am referring here to transport or electricity, for which we have maintained prices at an appropriate level so that there is no impact on growth."

"What we want now is to maintain the pace of reforms. To gain credibility in these reforms and have funding, we must maintain this pace which allows us to reduce the budget deficit annually."

"The most important thing for us is that the intervention and the program are very rapid so that these disruptions do not affect the performance of businesses and the economy of the Kingdom."

"Yes! I think that’s the beauty of this episode. The stakes are lower because we’re looking for a missing racehorse (there’s still lots of danger though, never fear!) but we get to see this vulnerable side of Colter that he keeps pretty aggressively under lock and key."

"I do! You can catch me in Sonic 3, which will be coming out this year. Can’t say much about it other than it was thoroughly entertaining. Loved every bit of my time on that set."

"My first and only impression was, God, that guy comes in and leaves as soon as the bell goes ding"

"I remember I texted him 'happy turn of the decade' in January,That was it."

"Sometimes he'd do up to 65 pages a day. He was just ripping pieces off, throwing them in the trash, as soon as he'd be done with the scene. It was almost like pop smoke and then he would leave. It was incredible."

"We did a dip in the pool with quarantine. I kind of never left him and we got married a year later."

"You only have to travel around the world, especially in Africa for example or in the Maghreb, to see how much of an appetite there is for French."

"My first mission will be to de-age the very notion of Francophonie, to restore its luster, its youth, its dynamism."

"I speak French, English and an Arabic dialect. This is something that is very natural for me and that I don’t think about."

"Abroad, French often has the reputation of being a difficult, highly literary language. A rarified language that belongs to intellectuals. However, it is important to show young people that it is also a language of modernity, a language of rap and slam poetry, for thinking about the world of tomorrow and inventing. And also that French is also a useful language through which you can find work."

"It is a fascinating and very rewarding job on a human level. French is a global language, which lives and flourishes on all the continents, with accents, turns of phrase and metaphors which belong to each landscape. It is quite extraordinary to see the flexibility of this language and to understand its constant creolisation and transformation."

"( Emmanuel Macron)The President of the Republic has decided to entrust, as of today, the function of Personal Representative of the Head of State for the Francophonie to Ms. Leïla Slimani. According to the mission letter she received from the President of the Republic, Ms. Slimani will represent France on the Permanent Council of the Francophonie"

"An actress who wants to wear my clothes has to come, we have to talk, have a coffee. I have to understand why she would come to see me, and not someone else.With Jarrar, there is no fantasy of finding herself in a harsh spotlight, nor the desire to dress a specific woman:I don't have a muse. I'm claustrophobic, I refuse to lock myself into a prism."

"bring to Lanvin the harmony and consistency of a fashion designed for women, a fashion of our time."

"Lightness is very important, even in extremely fluid tuxedos, extremely light. It is important to be in a nice comfort but with good appearance."

"It was important for me to express a very broad femininity through this beautiful proposal that required a strong decision on my side to close my house. This is a strong gesture I offered to Lanvin, to be fully there. With this first fashion show I could establish the new codes of Lanvin of this new era that I open"

"I intend to return to Morocco, while keeping my personal and professional ties in Egypt, where my artistic activities will take place. That’s my decision. It is final. I have matured and I need to go back to live with my family. I have reached the age where one needs to be constantly surrounded by one’s close ones and friends."

"I’m not pretentious and I hate pride. For me, any artistic work that pleases my audience is enough to make me happy."

"better to be close to her family at my age."

"Moroccan Singer Samira Said to Return Permanently to Morocco,By mwn, retrieved on Sep, 17, 2017"

"I have a collection of songs in the final touches stage. Their number has reached more than 8 songs. I am confused about whether to release a single or an album of my usual mix"

"The final decision will be decided by the company within a week whether I will release a classic tarab song, or will wait for Eid after Ramadan and release an album. It has been a long time since I released an album with my combination.""

"Samira Said Talks About Upcoming New Album, retrieved on Mon 06 Feb 2023"

"I am of Berber origin; my father is from a village not far from Azrou called Timahdit, while my mother is from Errachidia. I have lived in Casablanca for 19 years"

"I don't think the challenges we face are gender-based. It's a matter of the individual, of character, and of the ability to make choices. When faced with a situation, you have to take the time to question yourself and quickly propose a solution. My determination and tenacity have led me to accept who I am and what I represent, and it is for this very reason that my gender has never conditioned me."

"Independence has always been a leitmotif for me and has been reflected in my career choices, my positioning in the artistic scene, and more generally, in my line of conduct. However, this really came to fruition when I was able to become financially independent; from there, I could not only impose my leitmotif, but also build it in a sustainable way"

"I would tell them to believe in their dreams. The important thing is not the success itself, it's the path you take to achieve it. I believed in myself and I achieved it. If the opportunity presented itself and I could go back, I would do exactly the same thing, without any hesitation"

"It requires a lot of skills and resources, and that's what discourages directors and producers a little... I think that's the main reason. And then, with all the respect I have for our screenwriters, and there are some who are very talented, I think we have a real problem because writing is a profession in its own right. Unfortunately, we have a lack in that area. And then people are more interested in films that are easy to consume..."

"Not everything is always fine, but you have to learn to live with what's fine and what's not. That's life. Personally, I've learned to appreciate what I have and I'll say: I'm fine, thank God"

"I think we have a fairly diverse cinema scene. I like that there's a wide selection, and that there's something for everyone. There's just one small drawback, in my opinion: we don't respect people's intelligence enough. I hate mediocrity"

"I am seriously Amazigh and I am proud of my identity. Indeed, I do not speak Amazigh, but I understand it well"

"The Amazighs are the indigenous people of the Maghreb countries, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, as well as the Tuareg of the Sahara Desert to the borders of Siwa in Egypt."

"“My dream remains to sing a song in Soussia, the important thing is that it be Amazigh, and I will start practicing the pronunciation of the words until I pronounce them correctly"

"I do not like this approach in talking about women and men. I see a society, and we suffer from defects in society."

"Ahlam is a very sincere person, meaning the thing that attracts me most about her is that she is loyal to her profession, loves to be good, and does everything in a distinctive and unusual way in her work and personal life."

"I really grew up listening to international music more than Moroccan music. When I started my career, I used to write my own songs in English and French. I would never have thought that someday I would write my own songs in Arabic, because Arabic, especially the Moroccan dialect, has a lot of harsh sounds."

"We have some female rappers here in Morocco who are very strong. But I think that the thing we need more of is just helping each other out. I think that if we had more communication and more love between female artists, we’d all express ourselves more. At the end of the day, it’s music, it’s art, and it’s sharing messages."

"When I started singing, it was mostly pop and love songs. Once I started doing rap, a lot of people were shocked. For those in Morocco, rap is for men, not women. I think all the criticism just made me be a stronger person."

"I was inspired by a lot of artists. I grew up listening to Rihanna, Beyoncé, Drake, and Lil Wayne. These artists really impacted me and impacted my way of seeing music."

"I am honored to take on this role with UNAIDS and am committed to supporting the fight against HIV in Morocco."

"As an artist, I have a platform to reach many people. It is my duty to use my voice to advocate for people living with and affected by HIV who are often unheard."

"My stage outfits are a blend of fabrics and accessories inspired by Morocco’s traditional crafts, Africa and anywhere the music takes me."

"Inspiration moves in us when we are touched, moved. The inspiration comes from the people I encounter, and those with whom I evolve. It also comes in elements, areas and aspects of nature and the universe beyond us."

"I write and compose my songs, and then I arrange them in consultation with the musicians I work with."

"I was raised as a Muslim but my family and I celebrated both Muslim and Christian holidays."

"I have so many childhood memories of Morocco."

"My parents heard me singing and they were surprised because they did not know I could sing."

"It actually helped me sign contracts with record labels and management teams (…) it just went very fast after Idols."

"All contestants were imitating famous singers (…) I was imitating Vanessa Williams and managed to reach the finals"

"My lawyer, Channing Johnson, introduced me to Adrian Miller and we talked about music. I was impressed with how he helped Anderson Paak build his career as an independent artist. That matched up well with what I wanted for myself. Adrian introduced me to DJ Chris Cox, who has over 60 number 1 hits on the Billboard Dance Chart. He made the remix for my single “Lost.” In January of this year my single “Lost” was released. The second week after my single was released, I made my debut on Billboard."

"My relationship at the time ended and I decided to go to Nashville to record country music and try something new. When I was in Nashville I unexpectedly received a phone call from the well-known songwriter Philip Lawrence. He asked me whether I could come to Los Angeles. It’s Philip Lawrence, so I got on the plane and met him in a studio in L.A. He had just finished rehearsing with Beyonce and Bruno Mars for the Super Bowl."

"Oh, yeah, many, many times. I often cried on the phone when I was talking to my parents. At some point, I almost lost my confidence. My hair started to fall out from all the stress. My mother told me to come back home, but I told her that I believed in my songs and that I had to stay and give it a shot."

"Wearing a headscarf is not, in itself, a spiritual target. Those who do not “feel” the need to do so have the freedom to live their spirituality outside of this standard “garment.” And those who feel a need to follow this prescription and see it as a profound experience of intimacy and inwardness with the Creator also have the freedom to live their spirituality within the “garment” standard. In both cases, it is a matter of living one’s spirituality according to the same liberating approach. The headscarf is a part of the ethic and is, before all, a woman’s right. Women must have the right to choose to wear it or not to wear it, knowingly (an informed decision), because the right to wear it is inevitably linked to the right not to wear it."

"I did not want to express myself, from abroad, where I was participating in an academic seminar, on the reasons that led to my resignation."

"To avoid any malicious instrumentalization that would disguise my patriotism, my values, and my deep convictions."

"To those who would like to burden me, I would say that my action, as a volunteer in the Rabita, for almost ten years had no other ambition than to serve my country and to promote this third way, that of a peaceful Islam, contextualized and in tune with universal humanist values compatible with our cultural values."

"I was already starring for quite a time in a high-rated series at the time: Commissaire Moulin, and I had heard of a sort of Cagney and Lacey kind of series and found the idea very appealing. It was as serious as Law and Order, one of my favorite series of all time."

"I knew right away I would have lots of fun playing a passionate, devoted district-attorney committed to fight for the good but dealing all along with family problems, ex-husband, personal life, love and much more... That was like playing two parts in one, as many people in real life, my character was definitely not the same in private than in her professional life."

"I definitely spoke to professionals, and even when I wasn't, they were coming to me and contacting me. I also received for years letters of youngsters who were inspired to follow the same career."

"Considering some of the mistakes I've made along the way, I tell myself that it's not so bad. I would have loved to have a child. The time I could have had one, I was too young and I didn't accept it. I happened to see the man with whom it could have happened and I felt a mutual regret."

"We cannot mix this with blackmail in hiring, but I think there was something very subtle in the way the message can be distilled... We make you understand that we would prefer not to ."

"Maybe a little [...] Not on a daily basis, but I'm fine, I have a good life, I have a good laugh."

"For me it was different, because there was another actress who was supposed to do the role, but at the last minute she got afraid because she had a son, she didn't want him to see such violent images, so she changed her mind. So Pascal was back looking for an actress and he saw my first movie, so we had lunch. And then this was quite strange because I didn't do any screen tests or anything, he just said it was going to be me."

"You know it's a very hard question because we did a lot of preparation but how are you going to prepare, you know, screaming or – so we were really focussed and we worked a lot. It was a chaotic shoot. And the make-up and everything, all this helped me be in my character and I couldn't cheat on any emotions, Pascal wouldn't allow us to cheat, so just on set, they were just coming up."

"Yeah. And have my head shaved. It was cool because I always wanted to see what it looked like, but afterwards – it was two years ago, so I've been struggling to get my hair back. I'm happier this way."

"It took a lot of time. We used to wake up at like 3am to start shooting at 7am, so it was quite intense, as well. But I had never realised there was such a different world, so it was very interesting."

"I didn't stay very long in Los Angeles. I really haven't got time to deal with the clichés which Sofia suffers from playing roles linked to her origins. I had to cut short my stay there to shoot Pascal Laugier's film, MARTYRS. That film really allowed me to move beyond the stereotypes within which actors from North Africa are too often confined. To me, the important thing is not that Sofia lives in Los Angeles – she could just as easily live in London or Paris. What's important is that she decided to go and live far away to realize her dreams freely and independently of her family"

"Yes. As soon as I'd graduated from high-school, even before I'd decided to become an actress, I knew I'd leave."

"Rightists do not represent humanity,they cause division and incitement to civil war."

"The right’s incitement against the left is so deep and hard that it has already wounded us."

"It’s no longer right or left, it’s humanity against insanity."

"Dear god, there are also Arab citizens in this country. When the hell will someone in this government convey to the public that Israel is a state of all its citizens and that all people were created equal, and that even the Arabs and the Druze and the LGBTs and — shock — the leftists are human."

"Today the rightists do not represent humanity for me. I'm sorry if it sounds bad but I say what I feel."

"I am so glad that you asked! People so often focus on the last few years, and forget that I, like every other person, have roots. My roots are in Morocco, even though my dreams have always been in Eretz Yisrael"

"One of the greatest challenges we faced when we made Aliyah was the language barrier. I was a ten-year-old girl and struggled to learn Hebrew, but my parents found it even harder, and so I had to become their spokesperson and advocate. We would go to the social services with my parents, and as a little girl I would be the one telling the government official “we don’t have a blanket, we need this or that.” Even once we left the ma’abarah and moved to the city, there would often be a line outside my house, as I would write letters for people who didn’t know how to write themselves."

"A second challenge was getting used to the Israeli mentality. In Morocco, we grew up with a tremendous sense of respect for parents and teachers. In Israel, I went to school and heard a child shouting at his mother – I was shocked! It wasn’t easy getting used to the sabra mentality."

"I also had to be the support for my whole household. Each member of the family processed the loss differently. One child started asking, “Where is G-d, how could He have done something like this?” My husband became physically sick – on Uriel’s first yahrzeit he suffered a heart attack. I knew I was the backbone of the family. As a woman, I had a deep desire to make sure my house wouldn’t fall apart, and this made me find the strength to be the rock of the house. It was very difficult, but I knew what my goal was."

"We are counting on the commitment of all parties to turn the pledges made in Paris into specific objectives, effective mechanisms and concrete projects so that our ambitions may become a tangible reality, for the sake of our planet and for the benefit of future generations."

"To achieve the desired energy transition, it is important to make sure countries benefit from the full range of incentives. We also need to impose carbon pricing and cover all key sectors, including insurance and maritime and air transport. Moreover, solutions must be found to environmental trade barriers, and developing countries should be supported in their endeavors to diversify their economies and have access to patented technology on preferential terms."

"It is, therefore, important to agree on a clear, predictable, concrete roadmap to raise the funds needed to finance projects and thus foster the desired change in private investment patterns."

"It’s refreshing to work on a film like this; there are so few movies about women’s desires and sexual needs in Morocco, as it’s the case in other Muslim countries,"

"It seems that above 40, Moroccan women in films are asexual, they can only be wives or mothers. That’s a big issue in this country and it’s not being addressed enough in movies — women passed a certain age tend to feel neglected by their husbands once the children have left the households as if their only roles was to procreate and raise the kids"

""I believe in humanity. I believe in its potential. I believe in its intelligence. And I believe that Moroccans are intelligent beings."

"First be free, then ask for freedom"

"It is about the impotence, the disillusionment that devours us without being able to express it, to shout it, to claim it properly, without being able to make a real break and assume it, a break as an individual, a citizen of the world, a human being, a break in solitude before registering it in the group"

"It describes feelings, emotions, doubt, self-destruction, frustration and depicts a youth who does not necessarily question themselves, who likes excess and cares for inconsistencies, who judges themselves to be both victims and guilty, while being lost, in search of meaning but also in search of themselves."

"We must make our own choices and not follow those that have been suggested to us, define ourselves in relation to our life and not the one that society imposes on us, free ourselves from ourselves, from our demons, our paradoxes and our famous schizophrenia, to better free ourselves from others and inhabit the world as it is."

"There are four main themes of discussion on this group: the management of rubbish and city cleanliness, public transportation, the use of public space, and security"

"As this group has gained a wider following, it has resulted in some changes. Fairly often, someone will post something about a pile-up of rubbish in their neighbourhood. People start to comment on it and share it. Then, soon after, city workers come and deal with the issue"

"Quite a few journalists follow our page so that brings some media attention to issues that affect a large number of Casablanca residents. Recently, for example, there were debates on the state of the beaches around Casablanca and the people who take over various sections and illegally force beachgoers to pay if they want to swim or sunbathe there"

"We’ve also seen both municipal officials and those who work with the public transportation system release statements to respond to certain criticisms posted on the group. We think that is fairly brave of them. It is also a space to let people know what their friends and neighbours find inconsiderate behaviour, like parking a car on a pavement or blocking pedestrian crossings"

"Aside from that, I really hope that this group can help people feel more tied to their city and to be more invested in caring for it"