Spanish-Moroccan Author Najat El Hachmi Calls for Secularism to Advance Women’s Rights in Muslim World

Hachimi made this statement during the debate she took part in at the Cervantes Institute in Rabat on Islam and women. The author of "El último patriarca" and "El lunes nos querrán" indicated on the occasion that "sexual freedom is one of the fundamental freedoms of every human being and what we cannot have is a limited feminism", adding that Islamic feminism is "macho" because Quranic verses establish the superiority of man over woman. "This is something that is there and cannot be denied," she stressed.

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For the Spanish author of Moroccan origin, secularism is the only way to get Muslim women out of their current situation, to ensure the freedom of all citizens and to build an equal society, reports EFE. "This separation between the religious and the political is essential for a simple reason: within a society, we have the right to choose whether we are believers or not, but if the general norm that organizes this society is religious, I do not have this freedom. They have already decided for me that I am Muslim," she explained.

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El Hachmi adds that Muslim women living in the West are forced to hide their religion to avoid being further victims of discrimination or racist remarks. Moroccan professor Fatiha Benlabbah does not share her opinion. She reproaches Hachmi for giving "a negative image of the Moroccan woman and Morocco in her interviews and writings". "The mission of a writer is not to give a good image of a country, but to express the suffering of people," the Spanish writer reacted.

Sociologist Rajae El Khamsi, who also participated in the debate, felt that the writer was victimizing the Muslim woman. Moroccan sociologist Abdesamad Dialmi, for his part, insisted on the need to distinguish between Islam as a Quranic text and Islam as a diversified Muslim society.