I am so inspired. A new triumph for gender justice.

Yesterday we heard from our partners in Morocco — ADFM — that after a three-year quest for equal land rights, women of the Soulaliyates ethnic community received favorable news from the government: that they will reform laws from 1919 to ensure women are no longer excluded from sharing, transferring, or benefitting from public lands meant for the entire community. Women will finally have equal access to benefit from 30 million acres on which they have labored for the past century, until now without full access to the fruits of their labor. See Layali’s post Signs of Hope for Women of the Collective Lands in Morocco for background information.

Morocco Soulaliyate Women Protest © ADFM

It began when a small group of women came together during an ADFM-WLP leadership workshop and shared stories about their lives and struggles. And in the conversations they realized they should no longer let things continue as it had for their mothers and grandmothers. They wanted full access to the lands they worked on. They wanted their share of proceeds from the land. They wanted equal rights with men to transfer lands to their children, especially to daughters. It was time to change the status quo. It was time to come together, speak out, demonstrate on the streets, and let the powers that be know how they felt and what they wanted. And so they did.

Hear the Soulaliyates women voice their problems in this video:

Supported by ADFM, they held sit-ins and press conferences, and demonstrated before the Parliament (see photo show below).

And then, on the eve of the 1st anniversary of national women’s day in Morocco, the government announced their support of the women’s demands. The Ministry of Interior is to confirm this decision.

Congratulations Soulaliyates women, ADFM sisters, Moroccan women, and the Kingdom of Morocco. You have much to celebrate on October 10th, National Women’s Day.

Nearly a century later, justice and equality for Soulaliyates women is on the horizon.

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