WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT THROUGH FUNCTIONAL ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM IN MOROCCO: A CASE STUDY OF TWO MOSQUE-BASED LITERACY PROGRAMS IN MARRAKECH

Abstract: Due to adult illiteracy problems, Morocco has devoted its efforts to the development of national literacy and to the provision of programs of nonformal education for adults. This aims to reduce the illiteracy rate and make education accessible for both children and adults. Since its independence in 1956, Moroccan government has developed and administered several campaigns to eradicate illiteracy, but adult literacy education has experienced many administrative and programmatic ramifications and changes for forty seven years until a major turning point in the history of adult literacy efforts in Morocco that took place when King Mohammed VI declared October 13, 2003, a National Literacy Day, and launched a large-scale literacy campaign to eradicate illiteracy and emphasized on the importance of the mosques as sites to be used not only for worship but also for providing adult literacy. Through this initiative, mosque-based literacy programs, overseen by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs have been established to help adults acquire basic reading and writing skills in mosques. There are also other literacy programs such as the ones offered in schools and centers and directed by the National Agency for the Fight against Illiteracy (ANLCA). This paper presents an empirical case study investigating mosque-based adult literacy program in Morocco and its impact on women’s empowerment. Specifically, it aims at demonstrating how adult literacy course in two mosques (Al-Massirah Khadra and Al Firdaws) in Marrakech go beyond achieving literacy skills (writing, reading and arithmetic) to benefit positively women personal and public lives by fostering their participation in the society and in their families’ social well-being, improving their self-image, increasing their mobility, and making them more engaged in the family and social life. It also intends, based on the findings of this study, to propose pedagogical practices and recommendations that best support adult literacy programs and educational achievement of women. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire conducted in Moroccan Arabic to women participants in the two levels 1 and 2 in the two mosques and was analyzed qualitatively and quantitively. The findings of the study reveal that literacy courses contribute to the social participation of women, improve their personal, interpersonal and familial lives, and develop their self-confidence, and self-esteem.