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Moroccan Gen Z demands change: from hashtags to street protests
Demonstrations have now been going on in Morocco for several weeks. Thousands of Moroccans are taking to the streets from northern Tangier to southern Agadir. The question that can be asked is whether the protests in Morocco are part of a global wave in which Gen Z youth are trying to reclaim their future, or whether, on the contrary, here is a uniquely Moroccan story of social unrest that is breaking away from that international trend.
Eight women dead in maternity ward and Gen Z 212
The wave of demonstrations in Morocco is difficult to pin down concretely to a single trigger. Many sources nonetheless point to the anger that has arisen among the Moroccan population surrounding the mysterious deaths of eight women in the maternity ward of a state-funded public hospital in Agadir. The families of these women reported that their loved ones died after spending a week in hospital due to a failed caesarean section.
This led to large demonstrations outside the hospital in which citizens demanded for justice, denouncing the government's poor health services. These actions created a wave of demonstrations in the major cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier and eight other cities in which citizens took to the streets to express their discontent.
The protesters not only focus on the healthcare system, but also express their dissatisfaction with the economy, labour market, public services and policies to tackle corruption in the various strata of society. Figures show that the largest group of Moroccans belongs to Generation Z (1995 - 2010), of which over 25% unemployed is and does not go to school.
The Moroccan youths who took part in the protest movement Gen Z 212 took the lead in demonstrations across the country. Gen Z 212 calls for the resignation of what they see as a "corrupt government" and wants government spending to prioritise education and healthcare. This movement shares similarities with Gen Z groups in other countries, such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Madagascar, where young people also protested against corruption and socio-economic inequality. Although the immediate cause of the protests in Morocco is unique, the movement is in line with a broader international trend of youth activism. As elsewhere, protesters focus mainly on social and public services and the Gen Z generation is at the heart of the protests.
Hashtag, amputation and (more) deaths
In all these countries, the use of social media played a major role in rapidly mobilising and informing the general public to draw the demonstrations even wider. For instance, the hashtag #FreeKoulchi in demand in Morocco, which translates to 'free everyone'. This hashtag is named after the activist movement Febrary 20 which has been fighting for years for a free Morocco without politically motivated arrests. The action group originated in 2011 as an inspiration to the Arab Spring demonstrations in neighbouring Tunisia, but has since been greatly weakened by fears of persecution.
Communication platforms online have a key role for most Gen Z demonstrations. Mobilising and spreading the message is done on communication platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Twitch, through hashtags and other online content, for example. Because demonstrations take place largely online, critics are better protected from the authorities and can bypass traditional government power structures.
The activism among the youth did not just stay online, but soon moved to the streets in Morocco. After days of peaceful protests, the atmosphere flipped on the fourth day with sudden arrests of more than four hundred people. These protesters, with excessive force, were taken away and arrested. However, it did not stop there. Several news sources such as Al-Jazeera and BBC confirmed with video footage that at least three deaths have fallen after clashes with police. Many protesters, from young students to the elderly, were injured due to violent bashing by police. At verified video footage by Amnesty International armoured police cars can be seen driving into a crowd of protesters. In the process, a young student at the science faculty meanwhile lost a leg. In some cities, the demonstrations caused the vandalism of government buildings, police cars and shops. Gen Z 212 condemns the violence of the police as well as vandalism committed by protesters. The group calls for the demonstrations to be peaceful and for the government to take its concerns seriously and step down.
Morocco hosts FIFA
The protesters' concerns clash with Morocco's ambitions on the international world stage. Here, Morocco's positioning internationally weighs more heavily. For instance, Morocco has a responsibility to host the FIFA Africa Cup (AFCON) competition from December 2025 and, in the long term, to host the World Cup on home soil in 2030. These ambitious commitments have led to the Moroccan government's substantial investments has done in the facilities and infrastructure around football stadiums. The protesters stress that the gap between government spending on prestigious sports projects and on basic services such as education, healthcare and job security is miles wide. What makes Morocco's context complex is the national pride out there for sporting achievements and ambition to raise its international profile as host of these major events. These feelings of pride and criticism of lack of public facilities complicate the case, but also make it unique compared to the international Gen Z protest wave.
The president of the CAF, organiser of the Africa Cup, insists the tournament will take place despite the unsettled atmosphere: 'Morocco is plan A, Morocco is plan B and Morocco is plan C'. This month's exuberant demonstrations have not been seen in Morocco since the 2016 Rif demonstrations. These were demonstrations in the Rif region, particularly in the city of Al-Hoceima, with thousands of protesters taking to the streets to criticise hospitals and schools that were in moderate condition. These were brutally crushed by the Moroccan government at the time, resulting in the well-known political prisoner Nasser Zefzafi.
Between promise and performance
In the meantime, the Moroccan government has responded to national demonstrations and promises to increase public spending on education and healthcare by more than over 13 million euros, also focusing on increasing employment in those sectors by over 27,000 jobs.
Whereas elsewhere Gen Z often argues for cultural or political emancipation, young people in Morocco fight for better public services. Morocco is thus not an isolated exception, but a sharp example of how a global generation is fighting in local realities. Currently, hundreds of protesters prosecuted for their participation in the demonstrations and the frequency of demonstrations has decreased since the beginning.
