Morocco’s Amazigh community is celebrating a victory this week. After decades of activists attempting to make the Amazigh or Berber language an official part of Morocco’s government usage, a new law agreeing to this was passed on Monday, June 10th, 2019. Berber will now be integrated into all official uses by the Moroccan Kingdom. This includes the usage of the Amazigh language in education, government, and cultural sectors. Although Amazigh was recognized as an official language by Morocco’s constitution in 2011, only Arabic and French have been used in official documents and by media since this time
The new law forces the Moroccan Kingdom in the direction of protecting the indigenous tribes of the Amazigh’s (Berbers) cultural heritage. The Amazigh community makes up to 12 million + people, almost a quarter of Morocco’s population. There are three official Amazigh (Berber) dialects spoken throughout Morocco’s 12 regions.
Berber activists and intellectuals are encouraged the new law will be taken even further to guarantee the Amazigh language to be taught in schools and used in social media alongside Arabic.