PhD Researcher · Cultural Studies & Gender · Fes

How Moroccan women lead, and how they are seen.

باحثة في الدراسات الثقافية والنوع الاجتماعي

I study how the cultural and political identities of Moroccan women in leadership are built, in the media, online and in institutions. I also teach English at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University.

Explore my research → Publications

3papers in 2026

10years in Moroccan media

4conference papers

Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah UniversityFaculty of Letters Dhar El Mahraz, Fes

Research

Identity, power and the female voice in Morocco

Doctoral programme “Langues, Littérature et Formes Symboliques et Culturelles”, since October 2023.

Investigating the Construction of Cultural and Political Identities of the Moroccan Female Leadership

PhD thesis in progress · FLDM, Fes

Multimodal social semiotics

Reading images, text and layout together to see how leadership is represented.

Digital media analysis

Content analysis of social media coverage and public comments.

Qualitative fieldwork

Interviews, surveys and focus groups in Arabic, English and French.

Parliamentary observation

Informed by an internship with the Morocco–EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Featured study

Navigating the digital battlefield

Social media gives Moroccan women politicians a platform, and exposes them to attacks. This study reads what the public actually writes to them.

Journalism and Media (MDPI) · under review

180Facebook comments analysed

3Moroccan women politicians

2×double-coded for intercoder reliability

Publications

Recent work

2026
Empowerment and Exposure: The Double-Edged Role of Social Media in Moroccan Women’s Political Activism
With A. El Bakkali · in Democratic Innovations: Unwriting Political Voices in the Global South, Vernon Press
Accepted with revisions
2026
Navigating the Digital Battlefield in Morocco: The Dual Role of Social Media in Empowering Female Politicians
Journalism and Media (MDPI)
Under review
2026
Between Tradition and Modernity: Gender Representation in Moroccan Advertising
Journal of African Media Studies
Under review

Conferences

Papers presented

From Rabat and Fes to London and Reykjavik.

Jun 2026
Digital Political Subcultures and the Construction of Cultural and Political Identities among Moroccan Women Leaders in the Global South
ISFNR 2026, International Society for Folk Narrative Research · Reykjavik, Iceland
Online
Mar 2026
Weaving Authority: How Moroccan Women Leaders Craft Their Identity Through Discourse
With M. El Hilali and A. El Bakkali · International Conference on Gender Studies “Gender and Power”, Birkbeck · London, UK
In person
Dec 2025
Voices of Change: Youth, Popular Culture, and Digital Spaces
Moroccan Cultural Studies: Voices, Visions, and Revisions · CREDIF Laboratory, FLDM · Fes
In person
Jul 2025
Navigating the Digital Battlefield in Morocco: The Dual Role of Social Media in Empowering Female Politicians
With A. El Bakkali · 5th ISA Forum of Sociology, International Sociological Association · Rabat
In person

Teaching

In the classroom

Present · FLDM, Fes

Part-time Professor of English, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University

Undergraduate courses in Reading Comprehension, and Psychology and Sociology in English. Course materials, exams and timetables.

Present · Online

Online English Instructor

One-to-one conversational and academic English for international learners. TEFL certification in progress.

Education

Academic path

2023 – present

PhD in Cultural Studies and Gender

Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fes

2021 – 2023

MA in International Studies and Diplomacy

Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane

2018 – 2021

BA in English Studies

Moulay Ismail University, Meknes

Media & public service

A decade in the Moroccan press

Field experience that feeds the research: newsrooms, parliament and diplomacy.

2018 – present

Journalist & Editor

Saiss Akhbar · Meknes / Fes

Investigative and news reporting in Arabic on women’s rights, higher education, healthcare and the diaspora.

2019 – present

Website Editor & Video Producer

Saiss Presse

Runs online publishing and launched the outlet’s video channel.

Jul – Aug 2023

Intern, Protocol Department

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Official correspondence and document indexing.

Nov – Dec 2023

Parliamentary Intern

House of Representatives, Rabat

Morocco–EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Arabic · native English · fluent French · proficient Office President · Moroccan Federation of Media and Publishers, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Organizing Committee · national ELT conference, FLDM Fes, May 2024

Writing

Notes from the field

Short articles that make the research readable for everyone.

Research, simply

My PhD in five minutes

What it means to study how women leaders are “constructed”.

Coming soon

Media

What 180 comments taught me about online abuse

Behind the numbers of the featured study.

Coming soon

From journalist to researcher

What the newsroom taught me about research

Ten years of reporting, now read with a researcher’s eye.

Coming soon

Contact

Let’s work together

Open to teaching and research positions in an international academic environment, collaborations, conference invitations and media requests.

douniaziani10@gmail.com

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