The group leading Morocco’s mass protests called on Friday for the government’s dismissal, following days of unrest that have seen the deaths of three people.

The demand came after fresh demonstrations demanding reforms to the health and education sectors took place across the kingdom on Thursday, a sixth consecutive day of largely peaceful protests pockmarked with spates of violence.

“We demand the dismissal of the current government for its failure to protect the constitutional rights of Moroccans and respond to their social demands,” protest group GenZ 212 said.

The group, whose organisers remain unknown, also demanded the “release of all those detained in connection with the peaceful protests”.

The rallies across the usually stable country have been fuelled by anger over social inequality, particularly following reports last month of the deaths of eight pregnant women at a public hospital in the city of Agadir.

Many Moroccans feel that the public health and education sectors should be improved as the kingdom pushes forward with major infrastructure projects to host the Africa Cup of Nations in December and part of the 2030 World Cup.

GenZ 212 said it was basing its demand for the firing of the government on an article in the constitution that “grants His Majesty the King the power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and members of the government”.

The group has largely used the Discord online messaging platform to spread its calls for protest, and has repeatedly distanced itself from the violence and vandalism seen in some cities.

In the capital Rabat on Thursday, demonstrators carrying Moroccan flags demanded “health and not just stadiums”, according to an AFP journalist, who said there were no violent incidents.

Other rallies were reported in Casablanca, Marrakech and Agadir, also with no sign of unrest.

‘Dialogue’

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said in his first public address since the unrest started that his government was willing to “engage in dialogue” and “respond to the (protesters’) demands”.

The premier also said three people had been killed during protests the night before, describing the events as “regrettable”.

An interior ministry spokesman said that all three demonstrators were killed after attempting to storm a local law enforcement station on Wednesday night.

The authorities had initially said two protesters were killed when officers opened fire on a group of demonstrators that they accused of wielding “bladed weapons” and said had attempted to “storm” the station near Agadir.

Health minister Amine Tehraoui said in a speech to parliament on Wednesday that several reforms were underway but acknowledged that they were “still insufficient to close the sector´s gaps”.

Since the demonstrations started, hundreds of mostly young people have been arrested.

GenZ 212 has urged demonstrators against violence and had called for Thursday’s protests to be peaceful “as part of a civilised and responsible expression of our demands”.

As of Wednesday night, more than 400 people had been arrested during the rallies, with nearly 300 people — mainly from the security forces — injured, according to the interior ministry.

The ministry also said 80 public and private establishments have been vandalised, adding that demonstrators had also damaged hundreds of cars.

Some 134 people, six of whom are in detention, are set to be tried in Rabat soon, according to lawyers.

‘Dignity, social justice’

Demonstrators have called for “the fall of corruption” as well as “freedom, dignity and social justice”.

Despite its calls for protests, GenZ 212 has also asserted its “love for the homeland and king”, referring to Morocco’s monarch Mohammed VI.

However, it says it stands against some political parties.

Clashes have erupted in some cities, including in Sidi Bibi, near Agadir, where demonstrators set offices of the local commune headquarters on fire, according to media reports and videos on social media.

In the city of Sale, north of the capital Rabat, an AFP journalist saw hooded demonstrators set fire to two police cars and a bank branch.

“The young people I saw vandalising and breaking things in Sale have nothing to do with GenZ 212,” said resident Hicham Madani.

“They are young thugs who came with the intention of vandalising.”

• Discussions would centre around bilateral ties, trade: ministry.
• Indian FM spox says already speaking to Afghan administration.
• Analyst says India visit highly significant for Taliban govt.

The UN Security Council Committee has temporarily lifted a travel ban on the Afghan Taliban foreign minister, which would allow him to visit India between October 9 and 16, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

If confirmed, it would be the first visit to India by a senior leader of the Taliban-run Afghan administration since it seized power in 2021 after 20 years of US military presence.

Delhi and Kabul have traditionally enjoyed close ties when the Taliban were not in power.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is among Afghan Taliban members who are under UN sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze. Temporary exemptions are sometimes granted for diplomacy.

India’s foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters that New Delhi had already been speaking to the Afghan administration, and noted that it had provided support after an earthquake on August 31. He did not specifically confirm that the visit would take place.

Discussions during Muttaqi’s trip would centre around bilateral cooperation, trade exchanges, exports of dry fruit, facilities in the health sector, consular services and various ports, said Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban’s foreign ministry.

He did not, however, mention the dates of the visit.

Indian and Afghan media have reported that Muttaqi would travel to Russia before visiting New Delhi.

In Moscow, he was expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with representatives from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Central Asian countries, the reports said.

Hekmatullah Hekmat, an Afghan political analyst, said the visit to India was highly significant for the Taliban government.

“Afghanistan is in dire need of establishing relations with regional countries, especially its neighbours. It needs to build political, economic, and trade ties and to gain recognition,” he said.

Only Russia has so far recognised the Taliban government. India closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021, but a year later opened a technical mission to coordinate humanitarian assistance.

Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future.

Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH Zurich.

The young Einstein skipped classes, wanted to study physics exclusively, and finished second-last in his class in 1900.

After graduating, he was the only student not offered a research assistant position, according to the Swiss university’s website.

Einstein went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

Frances Arnold, who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, also cut classes after a turbulent start to her education in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.

“I was disruptive. I was just bored and well beyond what the rest of the kids in the class were doing. And the teachers often gave me little projects decorating the classroom and things like that,” she recalled in an interview with AFP.

At the age of 10, she was allowed to take high school courses such as geometry — a challenge she appreciated at first.

But by the time she reached her teens, she wasn’t enjoying school anymore to the point that she stopped going and was expelled.

“I guess I wasn’t interested in what they had to teach us. Or if I was interested in it, I just learned it on my own from a textbook. So I managed to pass all my classes despite many absences, I would say.”

Now aged 69, she acknowledges that hers is not a model to follow, but believes schools should show more flexibility.

“They don’t have the wherewithal to do anything special for the kids who really would benefit,” she lamented.

Overcoming challenges

David Card, the 2021 Nobel economics laureate, also had unconventional educational beginnings. “There’s almost nobody I’ve met… in an economics PhD programme that has a background like mine where they went to a rural school.”

Born on a farm in Canada in the 1950s, he was enrolled in a small one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher taught around 30 students at different grade levels.

“The way the teacher did it was she would spend some time with each row, which was one of the grades. I actually paid attention to a couple of grades beyond mine for most of the material,” he said.

“So you could kind of accelerate very quickly, very easily.”

The system was less ideal for students who needed more individualised support, he acknowledged.

According to the Nobel Foundation, other laureates had to overcome major academic challenges before going on to win the prestigious Nobel.

The first woman to win the economics prize, Elinor Ostrom, was turned down when she applied for a PhD in economics; 2009 medicine prize laureate Carol Greider struggled with dyslexia as a child; and 2015 chemistry prize winner Tomas Lindahl failed chemistry in high school.

Humble beginnings

Arnold and Card both started working at a young age, which the two consider an important life experience.

In her teens, Arnold held odd jobs as a waitress, receptionist and taxi driver.

“You appreciate more what the university education can give to you, in terms of getting a job you actually might want to have for the rest of your life.”

“It also teaches you how to organise your time.”

Similarly, Card juggled school and farm life very early on.

“I don’t think there was that much homework back then in my schools. So there was lots of time,” he recalled.

“I helped my father. I learned to drive a tractor when I was about 11. Every morning, I got up at 5am and helped him milk the cows and then I would have a shower and go to school.”

Both prizewinners also studied other subjects before discovering their respective passions.

Arnold pursued studies in mechanical engineering and aeronautics before turning to chemistry.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I went into mechanical engineering because it had the fewest requirements for engineering,” she admitted.

And Card initially studied physics before switching to economics.

Despite their unconventional paths, both ultimately found their way to brilliance.