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Touria Chaoui

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Touria Chaoui
ثريا الشاوي
Born(1936-12-14)December 14, 1936
Fez, Morocco
DiedMarch 1, 1956(1956-03-01) (aged 19)
Casablanca, Morocco
Cause of deathAssassination
Occupation(s)Aviator, actor
Known forFirst woman aviator in Morocco

Touria Chaoui (Arabic: ثريا الشاوي; December 14, 1936, Fez, Morocco – March 1, 1956) was the first female Moroccan and Maghrebi aviator at the age of fifteen.[1]

Early life

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Chaoui was born on December 14, 1936, in Fez. Her father, Abdelwahed Chaoui, was an avant-garde journalist and theatre director and her mother was named Zina.[2][3] She was one of two children, her brother Salah Chaoui is a renowned artist who resides in Vichy, France.[2][4] In 1948, Chaoui's family moved from Fez to Casablanca to start a new life.[2]

Career

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Chaoui's father enrolled her into an aviation school based in Tit Mellil, Morocco in 1950.[2] The aviation school was reserved for the French forces occupying Morocco and little opportunity was presented to the native Moroccans, especially not to women. Her enrollment was contested by the school and much was done to deter her from participating in the aviation program. As there was no legislation preventing her from enrolling, the school reluctantly accepted her application with hopes that she would soon give up.[2]

Despite this after a year of dedicated study and determination, Chaoui obtained her aviation license on 17 October 1951, at the age of 15. She became the first Moroccan and Maghrebi female pilot.[1][5]

Filmography

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In 1946, at the age of thirteen, Chaoui played the role of a young Léila in The Seventh Door, a film by French director Andre Zwobada made in Fez.[6][7]

A black and white photo of the funeral of Touria Chaoui in Morocco.
Funeral of Touria Chaoui

Assassination

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Touria Chaoui was killed on March 1, 1956, at the age of 19, while driving her younger brother Salah from school. Her killer was identified as Ahmed Touil, the leader of a secret organisation who assassinated several Moroccan political personalities.[8][5] She is buried in the Ahl Fas cemetery, in Casablanca.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Touria Chaoui - Morocco - Women Of Aviation's History". Women Of Aviation's History. July 25, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Shoemake, Josh (February 16, 2015). "The Amazing Aviatrix of Wartime Casablanca". Narratively. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Glacier, Osire (2012). Akyeampong, Emmanuel K.; Gates, Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  4. ^ "Touria Chaoui, the arab world's first female aviator | Aviation Sans Frontières". asf-fr.org. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Glacier, Osire (2012). Akyeampong, Emmanuel K.; Gates, Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
  6. ^ "THE SEARCH FOR THE SEVENTH DOOR by Josh Shoemake". Alaska Quarterly Review. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "Remembering Morocco's Touria Chaoui, First Arab Woman Pilot". www.moroccoworldnews.com. March 26, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Aïssaoui, Saïd. "Organisations secrètes marocaines #6: Les "Milices d'Ahmed Touil", de la résistance nationale à la rébellion" [Moroccan secret organizations # 6: The "Militias of Ahmed Touil", from national resistance to rebellion]. Yabiladi (in French). Retrieved August 25, 2020.
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