Protest against the exclusion of Amazigh women Sanhaja Sarayir and Ghamra from the 2024 census form
The head of the Amazigh Sanhaja Rif Association, Sherif Aderdak, sent a letter to the High Commissioner to plan a protest against the exclusion of the Amazigh women of Sanhaja Sarayar and Ghamara from the 2024 census form.
Where Sherif Aderdak expressed his regret about the exclusion of the Amazigh language, “Sanhaja Sarayar,” which is spoken by more than 100,000 people in the districts of Turkeste, Katama, and Beni Boufrah, located in the western part of the Al Hoceima province. As well as the Amazigh Ghamara language, which is spoken by more than 10,000 people in both the Beni Bouzra and Beni Mansour communities in the Chefchaouen province. In addition, a significant percentage of the speakers of these two Amazigh variants reside in the cities of Tangier, Tetouan, Larache, Fez and Casablanca...
This message was an opportunity to remind the High Commissioner for Planning that the Constitution speaks about a unified Amazigh language, and that the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture seeks to unify all Amazigh expressions, which is what the Amazigh Channel is aiming for. Which blocks the way to non-scientific divisions of this language, especially the incorrect division that divides Amazigh in Morocco into three expressions that are arbitrarily called Trifit, Tamazight, and Tsahlhit. In fact, all Amazighs call their language “Tamazight” or “Tashalhit” only. The inhabitants of the central and eastern countryside, for example, call their language Tamazight, while the residents of Ait Yaznassen in Berkane call their language Tashelhit, and the Sanhaja Sarayir and Ghamara in the western countryside call their language “Chalha”, which is an Arabization of the word Tashalhit... Also, the slight difference that exists between the Amazigh expressions is due to the tribal origin. (Sanhaja, Zenata and Sammouda...) and not of geographical origin (Rif, Atlas, Souss...); For example, the Amazigh language of Sanhaja Sarair in Al Hoceima province is closer to the Amazigh of the Atlas than its counterpart, the Amazigh of the Eastern Rif, and the Amazigh of Ghamara is closer to the Amazigh of Souss than its counterpart in the Amazigh of the Eastern Rif as well, and so on with other Amazigh expressions.
In the face of this situation, Mr. Sherif Adardak asked the High Commissioner for Planning to delete this arbitrary - incorrect - division from the 2024 census form and to mention only the Amazigh language, as is the case with the dialect, which is mentioned on the basis that it is one expression, despite the presence of a large difference between the dialects (northern and southern). And the West and the East...), in order to avoid the incorrect results regarding the linguistic component that were obtained in the 2014 census, especially in the Al Hoceima and Chefchaouen provinces.
Source: websites