Akil Kasubhai
Pronouns: He/Him/HIs
Research Mentor(s): Kelly Askew
Research Mentor School/College/Department: DAAS/Anthropology / LSA
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Authors: Akil Kasubhai, Celia Marilley Burke, Kelly Askew , Eliah Madukuli
Abstract
Although the government of Morocco has amended its constitution to make the Amazigh language, Tamazight, an official language, Amazigh advocates argue that integration of the language has been far slower than necessary. Without integration, the Amazigh people, the most populous indigenous group in Morocco, will continue to live at the periphery of Moroccan society, neglected and limited in opportunity. Historically, the government of Morocco has systematically marginalized the Amazigh people by suppressing the Tamazight language and victimizing them through exclusion, segregation, and institutional violence. This case study explains how the Moroccan government violates the Amazigh people’s language rights. This study analyzes Moroccan news articles and documents from Amazigh advocacy groups from Morocco to obtain results on the conditions of the Amazigh people. The Tamazight language is excluded from mainstream education, government, socio-professional society, and public communication, even as the language is alive and widely practiced. In education, there remains a lack of programs and courses available in Tamazight. It is only taught in 4 out of the 13 universities, with a current decline in the number of students learning the language. Amazigh advocates find that Tamazight is treated as more of a dialect than a language in the media, and productions are underfunded and understaffed. Nevertheless, Moroccan government leaders vow to prioritize the integration of Tamazight to meet constitutional goals. Amazigh continue to be forced with the tough decision to either leave their mother tongue behind or stay at the periphery of society. Without governmental adoption of the Tamazight language in public life, the Amazigh will not fully integrate into Moroccan society – leaving the group at the fringes of society.
