– This is a great source of pride for me, for the women and men of my country, the Kingdom of Morocco, and for the researchers at our universities who are doing wonderful work that deserves recognition, especially at the International. This is a great recognition that touched and honored me. I dedicate it to my family, in particular to my parents, who managed to instill in me the values of work, seriousness, respect and mutual assistance. To my husband and children, who have always been my unwavering support. And also to my extended family at the Attarik Foundation and my doctoral students, on whom I count to continue to develop the work I began in 2000 on meteorites and planetary science.
– Today there are few women researchers in this field in the Kingdom. How do you explain this?
– In fact, there are few researchers on this topic at all, this is normal, since this is a topic that I recently introduced to Morocco, and it takes some time to train researchers in these specialties. I have now supervised several PhDs in various planetary science subjects, which can continue to develop these topics as long as they can find funding positions in our universities.
– You are committed to increasing the number of women in science. At what point did you say to yourself, “Everything needs to change”?
– Very good question, thank you very much. I never paid attention to the gender issue, I ignored it and didn’t really want to see it. I grew up in a family where there was no distinction between girls and boys, and my parents accepted my choice of a career in geology, a male profession, especially in the 80s. Despite the attacks of several male colleagues, I did not notice this. these problems. In 2013, I had the exceptional opportunity to take part in the prestigious American IVLP (International Visitors Leadership Program) program on the topic “Women in Science”.
I had the honor of visiting major American universities and meeting with distinguished American researchers who shared with us their gender challenges and their efforts to overcome them. For me it was a kind of revelation. From that moment on, I began to approach this problem differently and, above all, to be more attentive to the difficulties of my doctoral students and to encourage more girls to pursue a scientific career and play the game, trying to represent a model for them.
– A few words about the advancement of women in this field in Africa…
– African women and Moroccan women, in particular, are formidable people, they are fighters, they demolish mountains, including in science. True, there are few of them, but the pace is comparable to international indicators. They have a future. Our young Moroccan astrophysicists have an exceptional career path. They glorify their country.
-Moreover, the asteroid has been given the name “Chennaui” in recognition of your contribution and your work. What comment would you make about this?
– Honor and pride for your country and your family.
– What major discoveries should we expect in astronomy in the next thirty years?
– Research on these topics is advancing by leaps and bounds, and this is mainly due to the incredible development of telescopic technology and precision. Science has become so effective at the microscopic and universal level. Big questions that could be better understood concern the origin and evolution of the Universe, the search for life elsewhere in the Universe, and the ability of humans to visit other places in the solar system that are more distant and more hostile than the Moon. .
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