Fatima Mernissi: Feminism, Voice and Courage
16 February 2026. From 17:00 | Conference | Catalan | French | IEMed (BCN)
Fatima Mernissi, a Moroccan-Amazigh feminist and intellectual, is one of the best known in different parts of the world, where she was enthusiastically invited to speak about her creative works. She has stood out for her defense of women’s rights, for her pioneering vision on the role of new technologies and for being one of the great international references in studies on Islam and the Quran.
Born in the city of Fez (Morocco) in 1940, she died on November 30, 2015, at the age of 75. A historian, with a degree in political science and a doctorate in sociology, she was a social researcher, university professor, consultant, essayist and, above all, a writer. As a researcher and sociologist, she was the first woman to have the great courage and audacity to deal with several topics considered taboo in everyday Arab-Muslim culture.
Author of almost thirty books, she published the first, «Sex, ideology and Islam» in 1975, followed by several works such as «The political harem: the prophet and women» (1987), in which Mernissi analysed all the tradition transmitted after the Prophet Muhammad in relation to women and «Forgotten Sultans» (1990), “The fear of modernity: Islam and democracy”. Also worth mentioning are her books «Dreams at the Threshold: Memoirs of a Harem Girl» (1996) or «The Harem in the West» (2002), «The Sindbads of Morocco, A Civic Journey to Morocco» (2004), «Love in Islam» (2008), along with various essays, stories, compilations and countless interviews where she expressed her ideas in a direct and straightforward manner.
A consultant for UNESCO and one of the pioneers of 20th-century feminism, she received, among others, the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2003. In the words of the competition organisers, “Fatima Mernissi developed a literary work in various genres that, with depth of thought and aesthetic quality, addresses essential issues of our time from a complementary perspective in the dialogue of cultures”.
With all this personal and professional trajectory of feminist struggle, full and rich in knowledge, Mernissi has left an important legacy of thought, reflection, challenges and learning that continues to arouse curiosity and interest. It is a legacy that new generations, here and there, must know and must not lose sight of.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of her death, in November 2015, the IEMed is organising this tribute event in collaboration with Tamettut – Associació de Dones Amazighes de Catalunya- with the aim of reflecting on works that have become an indispensable reference, of demonstrating her spirit of critical creativity towards both the Arab-Muslim world and the Western world —with the aim of overcoming prejudices and stereotypes around a culture that, in Western countries, is much talked about but little known— and of celebrating, finally, a symbolic tribute of gratitude to a feminist woman, defender of women’s rights, brave, studious and authentic, so as not to forget Fatima Mernissi.
Simultaneous translation Catalan-French
Speakers
Senén Florensa
Executive President IEMed
Eva Menor Cantador
Consellera d’Igualtat i Feminisme Generalitat de Catalunya
Gemma Aubarell
Director, Culture, Gender and Civil Society Department IEMed
Maria-Àngels Roque
PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology Research Fellow, IEMed
Driss Ksikes
Writer and coordinator of the Fatima Mernissi Chair Université Mohammed VI (UM6)
Meritxell Joan
Researcher, Maghreb specialist and professor Department of Humanities at Pompeu Fabra University
Salwa El Gharbi
Social researcher, consultant Former deputy in the Parliament of CataloniaOrganised by
