The Zahraa Tazarin – For Girls’ Right to Education campaign succeeded in advancing rural education. The Association Citoyenneté Égalité (The Citizenship and Equality Organization) used the New Tactics Strategic Effectiveness method to build their campaign. The organization achieved successes beyond its original goal.

Challenges for Girls to Access Education

Access to education in Morocco is especially difficult for girls. This is largely due to the prevailing patriarchal mindset in Moroccan society. Like many other Arab societies, it prioritizes boys’ education over girls’ education. This especially the case in impoverished, marginalized and rural areas. There are several challenges in rural areas that hinder girls’ education:

• the distance of schools from central population areas
• unaffordable school transportation
• safety issues related to school transportation including harassment and overcrowding.

Various surveys in the Tazarin region indicated that even the number of boys enrolled in education is very low. As a result, the situation for girls in this region is even more dire. Many girls have never had access to education. This has contributed to the issue of child marriage or engaging in domestic labor.

All these factors were the driving force behind the Zahraa Tazarin campaign. It aimed to ensure educational opportunities for girls in rural and impoverished areas. The campaign succeeded in advancing educational opportunities for all children in Tazarin.

Key Campaign Achievements

The Zahraa Tazarin – For Girls’ Right to Education campaign succeeded in advancing both preschool and primary education access in the Tazarin area. This is a significant victory for access to education for all children – girls and boys – in their rural community. 

The campaign built consensus with three key decision makers to achieve their campaign successes. Each decision maker had an important role in advancing the campaign. As a result, the Association’s campaign gained approval for two (2) primary education classrooms. Also, based on a recent mandatory law, the Directorate of Education approved one (1) preschool education classroom. The consensus building effort resulted in funding support to build two classrooms. Building progress began in December of 2024 on two education classrooms.