ANSAmed Italy
Feminism, modernity and Islam at the center of her work.
Fatima Mernissi, one of the most modern voices of Moroccan contemporary literature, has died. She was 75. Her family made the announcement after her funeral, explaining that Mernissi died on November 23.
Feminism, modernity and Islam were at the center of her work and battles. A sociologist and militant, her books had been translated into 25 languages. In Italy, she had published her masterpiece ‘Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood’ and ‘Scheherazade goes West, or: The European Harem’.
She destroyed a European image, as depicted in paintings by Delacroix, Matisse, Picasso and Ingres, of women in harems as sensual and without rights, building feminine characters of great intelligence and depth and opposing them to the ”size-38 western-style harem”.
As a sociologist, she understood the role and importance of social media during the Arab springs. Generous with other women, she believed in craftsmanship and did not hesitate to compare her work to embroidery. In Rabat, where she lived, she often organized creative writing courses for young talents.
