The February 20th movement shows new modes of engagement with feminism, despite a striking absence of feminist organizations from the protest movement. Nevertheless, and in sharp contrast with most accounts that posit the irrelevance of feminism for Moroccan youth’s identifications and political subjectivities, the writer argues that feminism has not only penetrated the social imaginary of a new generation of activists, but has also informed their practices.  What kind of tension does this appropriation of feminism by the youth of February 20th bring about with traditional feminist circles?

In this paper, the writer briefly locate February 20th in a genealogy of feminist activism in Morocco showing places of friction, influence and tensions. Second, then provides some indications of what she calls a new feminism. Then, she analyses the gender dynamics among the various components of February 20th, notably the secular and Islamist. She concludes by sketching a new map of protests led by women and not necessarily intelligible under the old cartography of feminism.