This paper analyzes the ideational landscape of the Moroccan nationalist Istiqlal Party by looking at gender representations in the pages of its official newspaper al-‘Alam (*1946). More specifically, it traces the shifting depictions of what constituted appropriate modern Moroccan womanhood during both the last decade of the anti-colonial struggle and the first years after independence in 1956. Initially, the newspaper’s women’s section projected a hyper-paternalistic vision that called for the education of Morocco’s females so that they could serve their nation by better managing their households and fostering their children. Moreover, a substantial number of articles during the initial years of al-Alam’s publication highlighted Princess ‘Aisha as the “female leader of the women’s renaissance,” who appeared unveiled in photos to announce the good news that King Mohamed V had decreed the “liberation” of his female subjects through both modern education and a return to the emancipatory ideals of Islam. Yet by the early 1950s, al-‘Alam shifted towards a focus on semi-autonomous females that occupied modern professions (nurses, teachers, flight attendances) as most representative of the ideals of the emerging Moroccan nation. While still emphasizing the importance of domestic duties, the ideal woman now “cooperated” with her husband instead of merely “complementing” him in accordance with new ideals that reached the country from across the Third World. While Princess ‘Aisha did not completely disappear from its pages, it was nationalist women activists from countries like Egypt, India and Pakistan that received substantial coverage as the embodiment of “national liberation” and “societal advancement.” This ideological shift offers us insights into the political transformation that occurred in Morocco at that time: the party elites were pushed internally by a new generation of activists predominantly educated in the secular French school system, on the one hand, and pulled externally by the desire to represent the Istiqlal as the embodiment of liberal “progressive” values that could legitimize the party both abroad and vis-à-vis the (former) colonial masters. Equally important was the Istiqlal’s desire to free itself from the towering personality of the King, who had risen to become the embodiment of the nation and whose popularity often overshadowed the mass-based nationalist movement. Thus, without completely abandoning their patriarchal attitude, the nationalist leaders used the shifting image of the modern Moroccan woman to carve out their position on the political stage and cement their reputation as the true leaders of their country.