❖ Unit 5 ❖ Women and Power ❖ Vocabulary ❖

Women and Power Vocabulary

Key terms about women's rights, emancipation, gender equality, plus a study of suffixes that turn verbs and adjectives into nouns.

Core vocabulary — definitions

Word	Definition
stereotype	An exaggerated or wrong image about a group of people.
violence	Actions or words intended to hurt people.
feminism	A movement defending women's rights to be equal to men.
self-confidence	Belief in one's own abilities and skills.
emancipation	Freeing someone socially or politically.
polygamy	Having more than one spouse.
gender	Male or female (social/biological identity).
International Women's Day	An occasion celebrated worldwide on March 8th.
equality	The state of being equal (in rights, pay, etc.).
discrimination	Unfair treatment because of gender, race, religion.
empowerment	Giving someone power or authority.
family code	The set of laws regulating family life ("Moudawana" in Morocco).

Suffixes — forming nouns

Suffix	Verbs/Adjectives	Nouns
-ation	emancipate, organise, globalise, participate, imagine	emancipation, organisation, globalisation, participation, imagination
-ment	govern, manage, improve, require, develop	government, management, improvement, requirement, development
-ance / -ence	assist, resist, differ, independent, confer	assistance, resistance, difference, independence, conference
-ism	feminine, terror, active, criticise	feminism, terrorism, activism, criticism
-ity	equal, inferior, responsible, secure	equality, inferiority, responsibility, security
-tion	dominate, ignore, unite	domination, ignorance, unity

Useful collocations

human rights — basic rights of every person
equal pay — same salary for the same job
gender discrimination — unfair treatment based on gender
Mother's Day — celebrated annually to honour mothers
fight against violence · defend women's rights
women's empowerment · female entrepreneurs
combat / put an end to + (violence, discrimination, polygamy)

Practice — Word formation

Put the word in the correct form

Many World (confer) conferences take place in Marrakech.
(Globalise) Globalisation has a great impact on our life.
Many human rights associations call for (equal) equality between men and women.
Illiteracy and (ignore) ignorance are almost the same thing.
In Morocco, there are many (organise) organisations that combat violence against women.
My grandmother is (illiteracy) illiterate. She can't read or write.
Women today can (participation) participate in political life.
Angela Merkel is a good example of (success) successful women.
Our country has made efforts to (improvement) improve the status of women.
(Free) Freedom is the most important right.

Practice — Complete the sentences

Fill in with: code · polygamy · violence · rights · equality

A lot of feminists call for equality between men and women.
The new family code has changed the status of women in Morocco.
Polygamy can't be practiced without informing the first wife.
There are many associations that defend women's rights.
We must put an end to violence against women.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Three vocabulary fields

Rights (equality, freedom), problems (violence, polygamy, discrimination), and movements (feminism, emancipation, empowerment).

② Master the suffixes

Each suffix has a meaning. -tion = process / action. -ment = result / state. -ism = doctrine / movement. -ity = quality.

③ The Moroccan context

Know the "family code" (Moudawana), International Women's Day (March 8), and key NGOs that defend women's rights.

❖ Exam tip

Word formation questions are very frequent. Learn 5 verbs/adjectives + their noun forms per suffix family. This earns you 3-4 easy points per exam.