Moroccan Author’s Novel Celebrates Iconic Dancers of Marrakech

"Rue du pardon". This is the title of the new novel dedicated to the chikhates. The heroine of this book, Hayat ("Life" in Arabic), grew up in this poor and teeming alley in Marrakech, within an unloving family, reports Le Point.

Confronted with the vicissitudes of life, she finds refuge with Mamyta, the greatest oriental dancer in the Kingdom, and in turn becomes a dance star.

"I was inspired by the life of a friend, a chikha. Whenever she needs to rest, she comes to artists and they consider her as a full-fledged artist, not as a chikha, not as a half-whore," Mahi Binebine confided in an interview with the French magazine.

According to the writer, this novel was written out of friendship for this woman. It is also a way to rehabilitate the chikhates in Moroccan society. Mahi Binebine also considers them as feminists before their time, a model of emancipation and feminism.