A Moroccan theatre maker has died after setting himself on fire outside the country’s Ministry of Culture. Ahmad Jawad was protesting his low pension since his retirement in 2021.
The artist, who arrived on the Moroccan theatre scene in the 1970s, had a history of activism including against the closure of Oujda’s theatre hall and, in 2016, he presented A Lesson in Love, a play which he went on a hunger strike to get funding for. Other works include The Turtle, Him, and May God Have Mercy on Mi Tammou.
His death recalls the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in 2011, which sparked a wave of protests that spread across the Arab world, the Arab Spring.
In a social media post, Moroccan writer Yassin Adnan wrote that Jawad’s death ‘exposes the fragility of the artistic and theatrical sector in our country, as well as a horrifying obstacle in communication between the field’s authorities and its members’.
Morocco World News reports that previously Jawad had written on social media, highlighting his precarious financial situation. ‘Whoever knows this artist, please lend him a hand as he suffers from very bad circumstances, especially after the government’s decision to prohibit theatrical shows. I am pleading, Mr. Minister. Who will buy me medicine and feed my children?’
