Salima Ziani (

Tifinagh Tifinagh ( Tuareg Berber language: ; Neo-Tifinagh: ; Berber Latin alphabet: ; ) is a script used to write the Berber languages. Tifinagh is descended from the ancient Libyco-Berber alphabet. The traditional Tifinagh, sometimes called Tuareg Tifi ...

: ⵙⴰⵍⵉⵎⴰ, ; born in 1994) also known as Silya is a Moroccan

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, and ex-

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. She was born and grew up in the Afzar neighborhood of

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima () is a city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital city of the Al Hoceima Province. The city is a known tourist destination despite its small size. It has ...

. She later moved to

Imzouren Imzouren (Tarifit: Imzuạn, ⵉⵎⵣⵓⴰⵏ; ) is a town in the north of Morocco. It is located near the city of Al Hoceima and now stretches almost to the town of Bni Bouayach. The inhabitants of Imzouren are Riffians. The February 2004 Al ...

, in the Rif Region, where she's originally from. She is the youngest of six siblings: four sisters and two brothers.

Studies

She enrolled at Mohammed First University in

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

, majoring in

Amazigh Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

studies.

Music

Ziani specializes in '' izran'', a traditional form of poetry performed by women, popular throughout the

Rif The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people ...

Political activism

Ziani is quoted in an article by Ali Jaouate in al-Aoual saying: "I try, despite the difficulties in this patriarchal society, to constantly establish myself as well as my presence in the Hirak, so that the Rifi woman is present." At 23 years old, Ziani was arrested after the 20 February 2017

protests, part of the

Hirak Rif The Hirak Rif Movement or the Rif Movement (, ) is a popular resistance movement that organised mass protests in the Berber language, Berber Rif region in northern Morocco between October 2016 and June 2017. The movement was triggered by the dea ...

. She was later given a royal pardon by King Mohammed VI on July 23, 2017—the 18th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

of his ascension to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

. She was released on July 29, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziani, Salima Living people Mohammed First University alumni 21st-century Moroccan women singers Moroccan women activists Moroccan human rights activists 1994 births