A wave of emotion crosses Morocco, since Sunday, and the announcement of the death of a woman, whom Jamel Debbouze, in particular admired. Melissa Theuriau’s husband paid tribute to Aïcha Chenna alias “Mother Courage”on his Instagram account, and told him, under a black and white photo: “You have spent your life showing us the way. Thanks. Thanks to you we know! Peace to your soul“.
Who was Aïcha Chenna?
While mourning saddens the comedian as well as his compatriots, it is one of the greatest figures of Moroccan feminism who died on September 25, as announced by Morocco’s second television channel, 2M . Aïcha Chenna was 81 years old and had a life filled with fighting for vulnerable women and children in her country.
President and founder of the Association Solidarité Féminine, Aïcha Chenna has come to the aid of single mothers and abandoned children. She, who had studied nursing, worked for a long time as a health and social education facilitator. Her greatest achievement is to have founded the ASF in 1985: it is the first association in the country to offer training to help marginalized mothers to emancipate themselves financially in order to gain their freedom.
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A progress that had received the support of King Mohammed VI in person, even though the activist had received a fatwa. At the time, when receiving the Medal of Honor in 2000, Aïcha Chenna thanked “His Majesty the King gave me his blessing and gave me the key to the success of my mission. His encouragement, his high solicitude and his magnanimous gestures reinforce my conviction and give me the strength and courage to continue every day.“.
She had received the Legion of Honor
And her action has been recognized beyond Moroccan borders, since she notably received in France, the Legion of Honor in 2013. In her speech, she had welcomed a “recognition towards Morocco which is the only Arab-Muslim country to have made so many efforts in terms of the rights of women and single mothers“.
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