Rabat -

Far and near, and those who read to her and did not, those who agreed with her and disagreed, and from her generation of thinkers, politicians, actors, writers and journalists in the struggle, struggle and patriotism, attested to her that she is a literary and patriotic stature that is difficult to repeat, she is the Moroccan writer and writer Khenata Bennouna.

patriotism and desperation

Khanata Bennouna was honored in many countries as the first female writer in her country and the first Moroccan woman to obtain a card to practice journalism.

The writer and researcher Hassan Najmi - former head of the Union of Moroccan Writers - says that "in addition to being a leading writer in the history of Arab literature in Morocco and the history of contemporary Arab literature, she is a patriotic woman to the core, with a political, social and moral commitment that gave her a special place within the literary and cultural scene and made her also She was distinguished in the Moroccan political space and among political families, especially within the Istiqlal party led by Allal El Fassi, who considered himself her spiritual father.

When we asked her how she defines herself today after her literary career and her humanitarian and militant stances, she told Al Jazeera Net, "I am a person inhabited to the point of illness with the love of God, the homeland, the king, knowledge, science, culture and human service."

Honoring the writer Khanata Bannouna by the agency "Beit Mal Al Quds" (Al Jazeera)

"I belong to a family that revolts against itself, even if there is poverty, and the family of Asmat in the national struggle has paid the price in flesh, blood, money, men, women and children," she added, in a tone of voice of pride, pride and satisfaction.

Bennouna told us about the story of her uncle, Arabi al-Idrisi, who was "one of Fez's wealthy and resistance, and was a general of the military wing of the national movement, and how he distributed all his money in the events of 1944 to demand independence, bearing responsibility and being sentenced to death, confiscation of his property, and the arrest of all the males of the family, even the children who are they".

She added, "He was a lion and I had an imprint on him. He used to sit with me with the adults, and I learned from him and my family, and I was raised since I was a child on the concepts of resistance ... then the main imprint that belongs to my spiritual father, the master of fathers, Allal Al-Fassi."

Bennouna recounted the story of the Moroccan writer and fighter protecting her from early marriage, contrary to customs that were prevalent at the time, as she rebelled and refused to accept, which is the occasion on which Allal Al-Fassi said and was aware of her acumen, intelligence and desire for knowledge, "This is my daughter and the daughter of Morocco," and he kept counting her as such.

Epic track

Khanata Bennouna was born in the city of Fez (despite the date of birth attached in a group of sources, which corresponds to September 24, 1940, Khanata Bennouna told us that the exact date of her birth is not known) into a well-to-do national militant family.

She taught and held the position of principal in 1968 in secondary education in Casablanca.

She was the first woman to publish a cultural magazine written by a woman in the Maghreb, and the second magazine in the Arab world was "Shorouk".

She was the first woman to publish a collection of short stories in Morocco entitled "Let Silence Fall" (1967) and the novel "Fire and Choice" (1969), for which she won the Moroccan Writers Union Prize, and whose sales she donated to support the Palestinian cause, and was adopted within the curricula of high school curricula for years. Numerous research theses.

Among her books, which amount to about 20 short story collections, include “The Picture and the Sound” (1975), “The Storm” (1979), “Tomorrow and Anger” (1984), “The Novel of Speaking Silence” (1987), and her complete works (2008) were published. ), and she has 3 books in print.

The writer and researcher Hassan Al-Najmi considers the writer Bannouna "the daughter of her time and history, with her narrative narrative structure, a classic structure, because the Arabic narrative writing in the East (with Naguib Mahfouz and others) was the source and reference authority in the mind of her generation."

He adds to Al Jazeera Net that Khanata is "a true patriot in her feelings, thinking, behavior and association with others, and for this she received this appreciation. In the Union of Moroccan Writers, her word was preserved and respected, indicated, intervened, suggested and did not hesitate to attend."

The word is a tool for change

Khanata Bennouna believes that the word is a tool of change, and she believes in thought associated with action, and she tells Al Jazeera Net, "I believe that word and action go in a parallel line to bring about change in minds, in political, economic and social projects, in science, scientific research and intellectual development."

The Moroccan journalist and writer, survivor Al-Amjad, said - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that "Khanata Bennouna is a woman who is difficult to find in this time. before the officials.

Giving and honoring

At the end of last month, Bennouna received an honoring ceremony attended by figures from the worlds of thought, politics and literature, during which the shield of the "Beit Mal Al Quds Agency" was presented in appreciation of its support for projects in Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Kingdom flags.

And about her, the director in charge of running the “Beit Mal Al Quds” agency, Muhammad Salem Al-Sharqawi, told Al Jazeera Net, "As much as she is a model for a Moroccan woman who has accompanied important stages in the modern history of Morocco, she remains a living reference for a useful literary project that imprints the memory of an entire generation of educated and educated people."

Al-Amjad considers that "Khanata drew from the same water from which Fatima al-Fihri was drawn while she founded and built the University of Al-Qarawiyyin, and she was imbued with human qualities such as heroism, magnanimity, leadership, determination, patriotism, speaking the truth and speaking out loudly without taking her in the blame of the blamer."

Intellectual anger or frustration?

The star writer points out that Bennouna has become "today more angry, her thinking has become radical, she has become more anxious, and her questions are denouncing."

He wonders bitterly, "Did this happen as a result of her experiences or was she influenced by what she sees as the bitterness and power of the unjust and unjust West, which formed for her what looked like a wound?" He added, "She has the right to be angry and she has the right to suffer when she sees the opportunists filling the scene."

Bennouna explains, "You will only find me angry at a rotten reality. We hoped that the situation would be different from the ocean to the Gulf, from water to water, and from wound to wound. Palestine formed the axis of a relationship between self and self, and for about two centuries, whenever the Islamic world put in place a plan to develop Life does not relapse,” considering that the oppressed, the oppressed, the murdered, the homeless, the deprived of expressing his ambitions and opinions, and the homeless in the global arena are the Arab and Islamic peoples.

Part of the attendance of honoring Bennouna, who enjoys a respected and prestigious position in the political, literary and intellectual circles (Al-Jazeera)

Library donation

In contrast to writing and patriotic work, Bennouna was known for her continuous giving, and the media, Etimad Salam, says that Bennouna “founded a library in her parents’ house, and she had barely completed her primary education, and the library formed part of the base for another library she founded in (Welad High School) and it became one of the most important libraries in the city, She was keen to open it to the general public, students and researchers.

Salam quoted Bennouna as saying, "As long as the library is exhausted, why will it remain with me? Others should benefit from it." Thus, she distributed her library to a group of institutions, including the National Library, and donated all her books.

Etimad adds to Al Jazeera Net, "Among the few books that she kept in her home are the three parts of the memoirs of the late leader Abd al-Rahman al-Yousifi, who he personally gave her, and the letters of Abd al-Qadir al-Shawi when he was detained, and the book (Paris Letters) by the late Muhammad Bahi, with a large picture of Allal al-Fassi in the middle." .

Bennouna told us that she also keeps the book "So Was It" by Mubarak Bouderga.

Bannouna had allocated the proceeds of the Jerusalem Prize, which she won in 2013, to fund projects in Jerusalem, then her donation continued to equip schools and health centers and take care of orphans.

Bennouna concluded, "I challenged myself and what was left of my legacy... I sold everything that was left, including valuable things that I inherited from my family, after I previously sold my home salon." It will be a good seed for moving stagnation and static in order to achieve greater scientific institutions.”