Dr. Bochra Laghssais is a Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies with a specialization in Peace, Conflict, and Development at Jaume I University in Spain. She was a guest researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands from September to November 2020. Her Ph.D. thesis, "Amazigh Feminism Narratives: Aspirations, Agency, and Empowerment of Amazigh Women in the Southeast of Morocco," is based on extensive ethnographic research shedding light on the adversities, vulnerabilities, agency, and empowerment of Amazigh rural women in Morocco.
In October 2020, Dr. Laghssais was awarded the "IV Research and Gender Award" by Universitat Jaume I in Spain for her excellent Master's thesis entitled "Voices from the Margin: Amazigh Women's Struggles between Needs and Rights in Morocco." She is an expert in Amazigh Indigenous women's empowerment in Morocco, North Africa, and has dedicated herself to youth development and girls' education in the country, actively collaborating with various organizations such as the U.S. Peace Corps Morocco and Project Soar Morocco.
To broaden her knowledge on the intersection of peacebuilding with policy-making and governance, Dr. Laghssais has participated in various programs. In 2019, she took part in the "Young Policy Advisers Program" delivered by The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. In 2024, she participated in the "School of Democracy - Engaging with Politics" delivered by The Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR) in Rabat, Morocco. Additionally, in 2024, she attended the "Female Academic Careers in Africa 2024 Workshop" delivered by the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) in Accra, Ghana. For her dedicated work, Dr. Laghssais was invited by Mrs. Michelle Obama in 2016 to represent Moroccan girls at a the Let Girls Learn Initiative focused on girls' education at the White House in Washington D.C. This special opportunity took place during the International Day of the Girl commemorations and the premiere of the 'We Will Rise' documentary on CNN, in which she actively participated the previous summer in Morocco. This enriching experience provided her with a unique perspective on the challenges and advancements in girls' education on an international level. In 2018, she was invited to speak at the Girls Not Brides Global Meeting in Malaysia to discuss girls' education and child marriage.
Dr. Laghssais is a visiting professor at the University of Jaume I, where she teaches "Peace and Gender" to master's students in the International Peace, Conflict, and Development Studies program. She is also a member of the policy committee at Climate Sirens NGO and serves on the Editorial Board of the UNESCO #HeritageAlive journal. In 2024, she received the “VI Research and Gender Award” for her Ph.D. thesis from Universitat Jaume I. Additionally, she has authored numerous academic articles exploring themes related to Amazigh women, gender, identity, decoloniality, and culture in the SWANA region.
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