Fatima Sennoun

Pioneered women's education in Morocco, advocating for gender equality in the early 20th century.

Fatima Sennoun (1920–2009) was a Moroccan educator and feminist who revolutionized women’s access to education in North Africa. Born into a conservative family in Fez, she defied societal norms by pursuing her own education and later establishing the first girls’ school in her region. Her wiki page highlights her founding of the Collège des Oulémas in 1947, which became a model for women’s educational institutions across Morocco. She collaborated with King Mohammed V to integrate girls into public schools, a radical step at the time. Her memoir My Life for Education details her struggles against tribal leaders who opposed female literacy. Sennoun also co-founded the Moroccan Association for Women’s Rights, linking education to broader societal reforms. Her legacy is preserved at the Fatima Sennoun Heritage Center in Rabat.