Morocco’s Berber Population Fights to Name Their Own Children

By: Nathan Matsko

Bellefonte — The Casablanca local authorities have rejected a request to register a little girl with an Amazigh name. The name “Silya” is allegedly not on the Morrocan government’s list of acceptable names. The Amazigh, more commonly known as Berber, make up roughly half of Morroco’s population.

These kinds of bans originate from the country’s independence in 1956, in which Morocco underwent “Arabization”. This was a push for a culture and country that is purely representative of Arab culture and language, leaving those like the Amazigh behind.

The Amazigh language, Tamazight, was previously banned in the country, and any Amazigh names that were put forth for registration were outright denied. However, the total ban on names itself was lifted in 2014, and it was stated that the government would not distinguish between names that are Arabic, Amazigh, or Hebrew in origin, so long as those names “do not violate public morality.”

Even though this ban was revoked, there are still several cases of Amazigh parents having their requests for registration denied, with Silya being only the most recent example.

Even though the legal landscape has changed, the caveat of not being in violation of public morality is being actively utilized against the Amazigh.

There is also the factor of social and individual discrimination, with claims that there have been actual cases of intimidation and added difficulty when attempting to register their children’s names.

The Amazigh have fought for decades to be recognized by the Moroccan government. Recent years have seen an increase in awareness and activism in the name of equality.

Though there have been steps made in an attempt at progress, there is skepticism as to whether these changes can cause actual change.For instance, Tamazight was included in the Moroccan educational curriculum in 2003, yet only a fraction of students actually study the language.

Though there are efforts to ease tensions, it became clear that these stresses have begun to boil over after many thousands of people took to the streets in support of the Al-HIrak Al-Shaabi, or popular movement.

This movement saw the Amazigh majority region of the Rif, primarily the city of Al-Hociema, engulfed in protests over inequality and corruption.

After the leaders of the protests were arrested and given lengthy jail sentences, hundreds of thousands of people, Amazigh and Arab, have demonstrated in Casablanca, Rabat, and other cities over the past few years.

The Amazigh people are in a peculiar place in Moroccan society. Though their importance to the country has been stressed by King Mohammed VI, and despite the fact that Arabs and Amazigh have coexisted for quite some time, there are swaths of the community who are being cut off from their culture. Whether it be through protests like those seen across the country, or simply fighting to name your child, the Amazigh people want to be seen and heard. Time will tell if Morocco’s government will listen.