Afrin Naftdar
News Center – A glance at history, right up to the present, shows us how women and young people across the Middle East and Africa have formed an unbreakable circle of social actors. They do not merely demand rights – they embody change, stepping into the arena with pioneering spirit, holding the keys of creativity and determination in their hands.
In the very lands where humanity was born, and where values of coexistence first flourished, women and youth have long been the builders of tomorrow. They have defied tyranny, resisted efforts to turn the region into a permanent battlefield for capitalist wars, and, against all odds, have stood as the shield protecting the cultural, social, and geographic identity of their homelands.

Historic Milestones in Youth-Led Uprisings

Looking back at the history of youth-led awakenings in the Middle East and North Africa, we find shining pages of struggle and triumph.

In Egypt’s 1919 Revolution, young people stood at the heart of the nationalist movement against British occupation, becoming the beating heart of the revolution. University students and activists organized peaceful demonstrations and popular protests, mobilizing crowds and inspiring a collective resistance to colonial rule. They became a symbol of awareness and national dignity.

In Algeria (1954–1962), youth were the backbone of the war of independence against French colonialism. Young men and women poured into the ranks of the revolutionaries, leading armed resistance for years. Their sacrifices and determination led Algeria to finally reclaim its independence, etching their names into history as a generation of heroes.
During the 1979 Iranian Revolution, youth played a decisive role in toppling the Shah’s monarchy. They marched in protests, sat in at demonstrations, and called out corruption and injustice, mobilizing millions toward systemic change.
Decades later, in the Arab Spring uprisings of 2010–2011, young people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria became the driving force behind mass protests against authoritarian regimes. With cries for freedom, dignity, and social justice, it was once again the marginalized youth—like the Tunisian street vendor whose desperate act lit the spark—that launched an entire region into revolt.
The young generation is no longer a passive spectator in times of crisis; they are central actors in reshaping reality. From Egypt and Algeria to Tunisia, Syria, and Morocco, a new generation continues to rise—redefining the relationship between citizen and government, between demand and reality, between history and the future.
Morocco… A Crisis of Many Dimensions
In Morocco, overlapping economic, social, and political crises have created a suffocating reality—especially for young people. Lacking effective government strategies, youth have reshaped their protest language, calling for structural reforms: greater transparency, accountability, and the liberation of public space from authoritarian control.
Public services, particularly healthcare and education, have deteriorated, deepening frustration among ordinary citizens. Politically, restrictions on union freedoms, the spread of corruption, and the absence of serious reform efforts all fuel discontent, pushing young Moroccans to raise their voices louder.
Gen Z: From the Digital World to the Streets
Amid this turbulent backdrop, Moroccan Generation Z has emerged as a new force in protest. Raised in crisis, they turned to the digital world as their arena of organization. Through social media, they voiced frustration with daily hardships, called for demonstrations, and quickly transformed online dissent into street mobilization in major cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, and Tangier.
What makes these protests unique is their decentralized nature—self-organized initiatives with no unified leadership, but united in their demands.
Women at the Heart of Digital Resistance
Within this wave of youth-led activism, women have not been silent participants but initiators of the new protest discourse. Young female activists used digital platforms to reject systemic discrimination in education, healthcare, and the labor market, stressing that the fight for justice cannot be won without gender justice.
Groups such as “Voices of Moroccan Women” and “Moroccan Women Against Marginalization” launched online campaigns demanding women’s inclusion in policymaking, protection of union rights, and resistance against economic and institutional violence.
Generation Z is not only demanding better services—they are putting forward a vision for rethinking public spending. They call for redirecting resources toward urgent social needs rather than massive sports projects that fail to reflect the priorities of the majority. At the core of their demands lie education reform, protection of basic freedoms, anti-corruption measures, greater youth and women’s political participation, and the right to unionize and strike.
From Symbols to Vision
What we are witnessing today in Morocco is not a passing wave of protests, but a profound transformation in political and social consciousness. A younger generation refuses to remain on the margins; they insist on standing at the center of society’s equation.
They are not merely demanding rights but redefining citizenship itself—putting forth alternative visions of power and resource distribution where social justice, political participation, and human dignity form the foundation.
In a time where structural crises intersect with digital tools of expression, a new generation rises—not only to protest but to build its own narrative, reshaping the ties between governments and societies, between history and the future.

Will the state listen to the banner carried by the youth? Or will the digital street remain their only platform of dignity? The transformation is not a question of if—but how and when, and who will stand with them when the banner is raised again.
Youth as Leaders of the Future
Against the backdrop of sweeping transformations across the Middle East and Africa, it is clear that young people possess the capacity to lead the future of their nations. From liberation movements of the past to today’s digital struggles, they have proven their ability to bypass rigid hierarchies and put forward alternative visions based on justice, participation, and dignity.
This new rhythm of history is not measured by official timelines but by the pulse of the streets—by the questions raised in public squares and the initiatives that emerge from the margins to redefine the center. Leadership here is not a single figure at the top, but a collective act: the one who writes, the one who organizes, the one who heals, the one who shouts.
It is leadership without hierarchy, without intermediaries, without waiting. Every symbolic and physical battle proves that this generation does not simply ask for representation—it practices it. They do not wait for recognition—they claim it, transforming fragility into strength and absence into presence.
In doing so, the youth are not just redrawing the maps of the present; they are redefining what it means to be an active force within it. They do not walk only in the footsteps of those before them, but carve new paths—and invite the world to follow.