The Nuances of Women and Religion in Morocco

Here is an interesting article on women and religion ( i.e. Islam) in Morocco from Open Democracy.

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Partners in prayer: women's rights and religion in Morocco

Meriem El Haitami, Shannon Golden, and James Ron
7 July 2015

Human rights ideas are often seen as highly secularized. For many, they are in direct conflict with religion, while for others they are, at best, “awkward bedfellows”. Over the past year, openGlobalRights has run a series of articles on religion and human rights, highlighting these points of convergence and divergence.

Some critics point to alleged Islamic positions on women as particularly problematic, and they portray women as victims of oppressive religious structures or as indoctrinated political subjects. Others point to Islam’s grounding in sacred texts, rather than universal secular humanism, as the problem.

At first glance, the women’s rights movement in Morocco, a highly devout and observant country, seems to highlight this tension. Both Moroccan women’s rights activists and their opponents have framed their debate in “secular versus religious” terms, and both have successfully mobilized widespread public action.

However, our Moroccan Human Rights Perception Polls, based on a 2012 survey of 1,100 adults residing in Rabat, Casablanca and their rural surroundings, suggest that this secular-religious polarization may be an elite-level artifact. Among ordinary people, the issue is more nuanced.

FULL ARTICLE

Woman's Back, Donkey's Back by Hicham Houdaifa - A Book Review from The Arabist

There is a lot of good content already on the Internet. Today, we want to draw your attention to a Morocco-related book review done by our friends at The Arabist on Dos De Femmes, Dos de Mulet by Hicham Houdaifa. 

Also if you have a second,  check out another review of  the graphic novel Amazigh, itineraire d'hommes libres, by  Moroccan artist Mohamed Arejdal and Cedric Liano on the  The Arabist site.

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Credit: aicha.graphics

Arabist Book Review: Women's Burdens in Morocco

by Ursula Lindsey


“Dos De Femmes, Dos de Mulet” (“Woman's Back, Donkey’s Back”) is a proverb in the mountain villages of Morocco. The Moroccan journalist Hicham Houdaifa chose it as a title for his first book of reportage, which focuses on the most vulnerable of Moroccan women — women who are illiterate, legally non-existent (because their births were never registered), single mothers (with no rights because their marriages were never registered) or vulnerable seasonal workers. 

With the help of some of Morocco’s impressive NGOs, Houdaifa criss-crossed the country last Fall interviewing underage brides; waitresses in Casablanca bars; some of the tens of thousands of women who pick the fruit that is exported to Europe (and are sexually exploited by their male superiors and the wealthy families that own farms)'; and others.

FULL ARTICLE 

Moroccan Villagers Battle to End Local Prostitution

Here is an article from the New York Times about people in Ain Leuh taking a stand to end prostitution in their town.
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 Villagers in Morocco Drive Out Prostitutes

By SUZANNE DALEY   Published: October 29, 2012

AIN LEUH, Morocco — For years, this mountain village with its crumbling whitewashed walls was known locally as the place to go for sex. Women — some dressed in tight jogging suits, some in dressing gowns — dallied in the tiled doorways off the main square, offering a Moroccan version of Amsterdam’s red-light district. 

The village in the mountains east of Rabat was long known as a place to find prostitutes.

But no more. A band of men here, known as the Islamists, took matters into their own hands last fall. 

The men deny that they were on a religious campaign, or that they are fanatics. They were tired, they said, of living side by side with drunken, brawling clients, tired of having their daughters propositioned as they headed home from school, tired of being embarrassed about where they lived. 

“It reached a point after Ramadan,” said Mohammed Aberbach, 41, who helped organize the campaign to drive the prostitutes out of town, “that men were actually waiting in lines. It was crazy.” 

These days the side streets are quiet. The doors, painted green and yellow, are mostly shut, though a few prostitutes remain, now trying to sell candy instead of sex. In the square, the pace has slowed, fresh chickens and slabs of meat hang for sale on hooks, and villagers take their time over displays of vegetables. Nearby, women are bent over looms making traditional Berber rugs. 

The changes in Ain Leuh are being held up by some in Morocco as another triumph of the Arab Spring — testament to what can happen when ordinary citizens stand up for change and make life better for themselves. 

For others, however, the events of the past year show how the more fundamentalist Islamists, though continuing to be shut out of power in countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, nonetheless manage to promote their conservative agendas — often taking the law into their own hands, and in this case threatening the prostitutes and their customers and driving away the only industry in these parts. 

“The economy is in free fall here,” said Ali Adnane, who works for a rural development agency. “The girls rented. They had cash. They bought things. Some people here are really happy about the changes. But some people are not.” 

Morocco has avoided much of the violence that has gripped Arab countries in the last few years. In the face of mounting protests, Morocco’s king, Mohammed VI, offered to curb his own powers and in 2011 pledged a variety of reforms. Since then, the country has adopted a new Constitution and elected a new government, led by a moderate Islamist party. 

The new prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, who has refused many of the perks of his office, has a flair for mingling with the average man. But many remain frustrated over the pace of change in a country plagued by high unemployment and corruption. Ain Leuh is hardly the only village to have seen the emergence of a local committee, known as a comité, pushing for reforms of various sorts. 

Exactly what happened in this village of 5,000 in the Middle Atlas Mountains, about a two-hour drive from Rabat, the capital, is in dispute. Mr. Aberbach says the Islamists never did anything illegal. The campaign, he said, largely involved demonstrations in the main square. No one threatened anybody or used violence or stood at the entrances to the village demanding identification from men who wanted to enter. 

“That would be against the law,” said Mr. Aberbach, a friendly man who owns several shops here and has big plans for the future of Ain Leuh.

But others, including Haddou Zaydi, a member of the town council, say all those things, and more, took place. Sometimes, he said, the Islamists used padlocks to imprison the prostitutes in their houses after a customer had gone in. Then, they called the police. 

In the past, many here say, the prostitutes would pay off the police to look the other way. Now, though, the authorities, still getting the feel for a newly elected government led by a moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party, let the Islamists have their way. 

Mourad Boufala, 32, who runs a cigarette and candy shop in the main square, said he was not in favor of prostitution. But he was offended by the Islamists’ methods. “The way they did it was really rough,” he said. “They hit girls and scared them. And the problem is that they offered them no alternatives.” 

Mr. Boufala worries that the country is adrift, easily prey to self-appointed militias like the Islamists.

“No one is governing,” Mr. Boufala said. “The militias exist like they are the authorities.”

Repeated phone calls to local police officials were not returned. 

Curiously, few people here see the campaign against the prostitutes as particularly religious. Mr. Aberbach and several other members of the Islamists frame the campaign in moral terms — and business ones. They say the name “Islamists” was attached to them because they are members of various Islamic parties, including the governing one. 

They say that they consider the prostitutes victims of criminal gangs that brought drugs and human trafficking to their village. And they are determined to end the corruption that allowed such crimes to flourish in their streets. 

“What we did is related to the Arab Spring because it brought the culture of speaking out,” Mr. Aberbach said. 

“We could have tourism,” he added. “But we have no good roads or hotels or restaurants here. There are beautiful things around here. Waterfalls, a lot of things. But who is going to come to a village known for prostitution? It got to the point where if you were a woman you could not say you were from here.” 

For the prostitutes who remain, the last year has brought hard times.

“I won’t even make 10 cents today,” said Khadija, 34, who has tried to earn a living selling cigarettes, candy bars and small toys displayed on a round table outside her door. “My neighbors are feeding me.”

“They are watching us all the time,” she added, referring to the Islamists. 

Up the street, Arbia Oulaaskri, 64, said her family has been living in terror since the Islamists’ campaign began. Her house is luxurious compared with others in the village. Her living room easily seats 30, and more than 50 tea glasses are arranged on various coffee tables. She says she was never involved in prostitution and obtained her money from her family and from her daughters who live abroad and send her checks. But, she said, the Islamists carrying chains arrived at her doorstep night after night, telling her to leave. 

Her son, wearing a gold lamé jacket, exhibits a room nearby that shows signs of a fire and says the Islamists did that, too. But, Mrs. Oulaaskri says, the authorities would not listen. She is facing charges related to running a house of prostitution.

“We filed a lot of complaints,” Mrs. Oulaaskri said, “but no one followed up.” 

Aida Alami contributed reporting.

The Second Tale: a Poem by Moroccan Poet Rachida Madani

Here is a poem by Moroccan poet Rachida Madani  that has been translated and  published in Guernica magazine. Thanks to one our readers, R.C. for calling it to our attention. A collection of Madani's poems has been published in English by Yale Press if  you would like to read more of her work.
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The Second Tale: XV, from Tales of a Severed Head 

By Rachida Madani, translated by Marilyn Hacker 
October 1, 2012

It was a tale for disfigured women
for children unable to laugh.
A tale crashing in the glass garden
after centuries of patrol
centuries of silence
in Shehriyar’s palace.


It was the sobbing tale of a shattered woman
the bloody tale of a head severed
on the way to revolt…
And without a tear, in the glass garden,
the blackest owl
took its turn to stand guard.

Rachida Madani, a native of Morocco, has published several volumes of poetry in French, a language she taught for thirty years. She lives in Tangiers.
Marilyn Hacker is a poet, translator, and critic. For her work she has received a National Book Award, a PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, and a PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry, among other prizes. She lives in Paris.

Amina Filali

This story is so heartbreaking that it seems wrong not to speak of it. The article from The Telegraph discusses the suicide of Amina Filali, may God be Merciful to her, after suffering the degrading abuse of having to marry the man who raped her.
May her death not be exploited by any side, but used to prevent the coercion and brutalization of women's bodies and souls in the name of tradition or religion. Ameen
(Photo: Hamida, Right, and Souad, the sister and mother of Amina Al Filali sit at her grave in Larache - AFP/Getty Images)

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Moroccan teenager's suicide after she was forced to marry her rapist
A Moroccan teenager committed suicide after her family forced her to marry her rapist in a tragedy that has sparked outrage among Moroccan activists and demands for changes to the nation's laws.


By Paul Carsten, and agencies

2:50PM GMT 15 Mar 2012

Amina Filali, 16, drank rat poison last week in order to kill herself because she had been made to marry the man who raped her when she was 15 years old.

Activists have set up a Facebook group called "We are all Amina Filali", with almost 1,000 members. A petition was started which already contains more than 1,000 signatures, and hundreds of tweets detail people's horror at the tragedy.

Nabil Belkabir, an activist, implored people on Twitter to "Join the group 'We are all Amina Filali' if you don't want this drama to happen again."

According to the president of Morocco's Democratic League for Women's Rights, Fouzia Assouli, Miss Filali's rapist married her to avoid receiving a sentence for rape.

In Morocco this is punishable by five to ten years in prison, but the sentence rises to between ten and twenty years if the victim is a minor.


Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code, which purports to defend family values, states that if a rapist marries his victim he is then exonerated of his crime. Ms Assouli attacked the article, saying it "does not uphold the rights of women".

In many societies, including within the Middle East, a woman losing her virginity before marriage is considered a dishonour to her family. For this reason, families will often make arrangements for rape victims to marry their rapists, so as to restore their lost honour. The Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament contains a similar injunction.

"Amina, 16, was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law," activist Abadila Maaelaynine wrote on Twitter.

Miss Filali's father, Lahcen Filali, told an online Moroccan newspaper that his daughter only told her parents of the rape two months after it had occurred. When they reported it, the prosecutor advised his daughter to marry.

Although the rapist had initially rejected the proposal to marry Miss Filali, he agreed once threatened with prosecution.

The manager of the Adala Association for legal reform, Abdelaziz Nouaydi, said that a judge can only encourage the victim and rapist to marry when there is agreement from the victim and both families.

Mr Nouaydi said that although it isn't a common occurrence, the victim's family will sometimes assent to the marriage due to worries she will be unable to find a husband if her rape becomes common knowledge.

Ms Assouli said that the victim is then forced to marry in order to avoid scandal for her family.

Despite Morocco changing its family code in 2004 in an attempt to improve women's rights, the practice continues. "It is unfortunately a recurring phenomenon," she said. "We have been asking for years for the cancellation of Article 475 of the penal code which allows the rapist to escape justice."

Legislation to outlaw all forms of violence against women, which includes rape within marriage, has failed to move beyond government debate since first being proposed in 2006.

Mr Filali said his daughter had complained to her mother that her husband beat her repeatedly throughout the five months they were married. Her mother advised her to be patient.

According to a government study conducted last year, almost one quarter of Moroccan women have been sexually assaulted at least once in their lives.

More Moroccan Women Proposing to Men for Marriage

Here is an article from Al-Arabiya, on the rising tendency of Moroccan women to express their intentions of marriage directly to Moroccan men.
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More Moroccan Women Propose to Men

Tuesday, 20 December 2011
By Khadija al-Fathi
Al Arabiya Casablanca

In conservative societies, it is always expected of men to take the initiative as far as marriage proposals are concerned and girls who decide to reverse the situation are likely to be criticized for breaking a long-standing tradition. The remarkable rise in the number of women proposing to men in Morocco has shed more light on the phenomenon and drove many to analyze the reasons for its prevalence.

“I proposed to my husband,” Naeema al-Mansouri told Al Arabiya.
Mansouri recounted the time she met the woman that later became her mother-in-law and offered to marry her son.

“We were in a wedding and I met her there. Another woman asked her how her son was and she said he found a job and was looking for a wife. I told her that I can make a good wife for her son and that I am good at cooking and household chores.”

The woman, Mansouri added, told her that she likes her and that she has no problem with her marrying her son, but said he has to decide when he gets to see her.

“I met him and he liked me. He said he would marry me provided that we live with his mother who would feel lonely if we lived away from her. I agreed and now she is like a mother to me.”

Hend, a woman in her thirties, first proposed to her future husband jokingly.
“I told him I am willing to bring a bunch of flowers and ask him to marry me,” she told Al Arabiya.

Hend added that he asked her whether she was serious and she told him that “the man who refuses to divorce his wife when she asks for it is not a man and so is the man who refuses to marry a woman when she asks for it.”

“Of course I am a man,” he replied then went to visit her parents with their family.

Hassan al-Haithami, editor-in-chief of the Justice and Development Party’s website, does not mind marrying a woman who proposes to him as long as she has all the traits he needs in a wife.

“There is nothing wrong with a woman asking a man to marry her. These are feelings and you cannot control them and decide who says what. There is nothing insulting for a woman to do that. In fact, I find it very brave,” he told Al Arabiya.

Rukaia Zayed, a housewife and a mother of four, disagreed to this breach of traditions.

“If a woman proposes to my and he agreed, I will disown him forever,” she told Al Arabiya.

Zayed explained that in this case she will discover what a weak personality her son has and how indifferent he is to the social and family norms in which he was brought up.

For sociologist and university professor Abdul Samad al-Dialmi, the rise in the number of women proposing to men is part of a female campaign to promote the principles of gender equality.

“Moroccan women are proving that they will not surrender to spinsterhood and that she has the right to tell a man if she likes him and wants to marry him because they are equal,” he told Al Arabiya.

Dialmi objected to regarding this action on the part of women as too daring and argued that society has to admit that this is one of women’s rights.
Abdul Razek al-Jay, professor of Sunna at Rabat University and member of the Scientific Circle for Islamic Studies, said that men are usually the ones who propose to women because this is what tradition has always dictated, yet there is nothing wrong with it from the religious point of view.

“Prophet Mohamed’s first wife Khadija was the one who proposed to him, yet this has not been part of the Sunnah because it is not socially common,” he told Al Arabiya.

Jay explained that Islam is the religion of equality and that is why it is the woman’s right to propose to a man if she finds in him the traits she seeks.
“The only problem would be if the woman proposes to the man because of how rich or handsome he is and without paying attention to his morals. She will in this case have fallen into the trap of imitating Mexican and Turkish soap operas that have lately invaded the Arab world,” he concluded.

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)

Boarding School in Ain Leuh Provides Education to Girls in Rural Morocco

Here is the article from the AFP about a school in the mountains near Ifrane providing educational opportunities to needy girls from rural areas.
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Mountain boarding school gives hope to Moroccan girls

By Omar Brouksy (AFP) – 21 hours ago

AIN LEUH, Morocco — In the heart of the snowbound Atlas mountains in central Morocco, a boarding school takes in young girls from isolated villages in a bid to fight poverty and illiteracy.

There are more than 300 such schools in Morocco, with another 30 planned for construction next year. They are now both home and class to almost 16,700 girls, who are often living far from their families. More than 70 percent of them come from a rural background, according to official figures.

"The criteria for admission to the dormitory? They are simple and clear: poverty and remoteness. A committee studies requests and the girls are swiftly selected on the basis of these two criteria," said Souad Arkani, the headmistress of the establishment in the village of Ain Leuh.

The dormitory has taken in 35 young women, just a little way from the school they attend each day.

Despite landmark changes in the family code known as Mudawana, pushed through by King Mohammed VI in 2004 against tough opposition from religious conservatives, many women are still second-class citizens in the north African country. In conservative rural zones, only one out of every two girls finishes middle school and only two out of every 10 goes to high school.

The king promoted the boarding schools -- for both boys and girls -- soon after he took power, in 1999.

"My parents live a few dozen kilometres from here. But thanks to this home, I'm doing my studies in good conditions because I'm looked after and the school is just nearby," Khadija, 19, told AFP.

"They are taken in hand, with a precise programme from morning to evening: breakfast, going to the nearby school, lunch at 12:30 pm, studies and, finally, lights out at 10:00 pm," Arkani said.

The boarding school is financed and jointly run by the ministry of social development and a local non-governmental organisation, the Islamic Association of Charity (AIB).

Ain Leuh is located in the province of Ifrane, 300 kilometres (185 miles) east of the capital Rabat, at the heart of mountains covered with cedar trees where it often snows in winter.

"From November, it begins to get very cold because the region is mountainous. The girls stay in the home all week, but they can spend the weekend with their relatives or close family," Arkani said.

To see her parents, Khadija must first take a "big taxi" (a collective taxi) for several dozen kilometres. Then she needs to walk down a track for at least an hour to get home.

When he encouraged these boarding schools, the king stated that he wanted to make up for the lack of infrastructure in rural regions, but according to some of the staff at Ain Leuh, inaugurated by Mohammed VI in 2003, the means are limited and help from any quarter is welcome.

"Local communities, the ministry (of social development) and our association participate in the finance, but we have to struggle to balance our budget," said Mohamed Bouyamlal, vice-president of the AIB.

"We have to make choices which are sometimes difficult and choose the strict minimum, which is to say food," he added.

The headmistress only earns 1,200 dirhams a month (106 euros / 148 dollars), which is less than the national minimum wage of about 125 euros.

But in spite of the difficulties, the results are promising. The schools say their success rate in graduating girls runs between 80 and 100 percent, and more than half the boarders end up following university studies.

Overall, the rate of illiteracy among rural women has dropped from 64 percent in 2006 to 40 percent in 2011, according to official figures.

And the rate at which girls drop out of school in rural areas has fallen from 14 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2010, thanks to this programme. School is by law compulsory in Morocco until the age of 15.

Apart from the studies, Ain Leuh offers otherwise isolated girls a new social network, to exchange views and open their minds.

"When I arrived from my distant home in the country, I was very shy," said Souad, one of the students. "The home has broadened my horizons and I have realised I can be autonomous and independent."

"I have ambitions and I see my future differently," she added proudly. "I want to be a mathematics teacher."

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Saudi Women Fear Entrance of Moroccan Maids in Their Country

Here is an article from Arab News, It is a follow up of the last piece we posted. It seems that recent moves to facilitate the recruitment of Moroccan women to work in Saudi Arabia is causing alarm amongst some women in Saudi because of stereotypes of Moroccan women being "magicians, man-stealers and pliant." It is both an amusing and sad commentary on the state of things.
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Moroccan maids may ‘spell’ trouble, warn some women

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 14, 2011 23:04 Updated: Sep 14, 2011 23:04

RIYADH: Saudi women have voiced reservations against recruiting domestic helpers from Morocco as suggested by the chairman of the Saudi recruitment committee.

This is due to an old belief that Moroccan women use black magic to lure men to marry them. Some Saudi women urged the Shoura Council to intervene, while others threatened to quit their jobs to look after their homes if housemaids from the country were brought in.

Najla, a 32-year-old teacher at a private school, said she felt threatened by the news, pointing out that Moroccan women are known for being pliant and willing to adjust to varying situations, and this posed a threat to a working wife who is not at home most of the day.

Raja is a housewife who hopes the move falls through. She said Moroccan women are known for their black magic and could use it in Saudi homes. “It is better to be safe than sorry,” Raja said.

“It all depends on the upbringing of the man,” said Nuha, a physician and mother of three young children. She expressed support for the initiative to bring in Moroccan workers and pointed out that any threat can come from workers of any nationality and not only one.

Sawsan, a 40-year-old housewife, sees no harm in the initiative as she believes Saudi women should have confidence in themselves. “If a woman knows how to keep her husband satisfied, nothing can threaten her home.”

Sameer, a divorced businessman, believes that “black magic” is the key phrase frightening people. “However, other nationalities, as we have experienced in the Kingdom, use black magic to control families.”

“I am against having a live-in domestic helper in general,” said Majed, a single lawyer, adding that having a stranger live in anyone’s home is not healthy and can cause many problems, especially in marriages. “It is like bringing in an alien seed and planting it in your garden. No one can predict the outcome.”

Umm Fahad, a 27-year-old mother of three, has worked with a Moroccan maid for seven years, and she thought it was the best experience.

“She was so clean, quiet and kind, and since she left I have been suffering with workers of other nationalities,” she said, adding that at least the maid spoke the same language and understood Saudi traditions.

On the other hand, PR manager Abdullah saw no harm in recruiting from Morocco provided that a minimum age for workers is set and that watchdogs control visa allocations closely to prevent any foul play.

Moneera, a single journalist, saw no point to the fuss surrounding this issue. “Many families have recruited Moroccan domestic workers for many years now and there might have been minor complaints about them, like any other nationality.”

“It is a ridiculous fear that is without base,” said marriage counselor and psychoanalyst Hany Al-Ghamdi, pointing out that if a man has no respect for his family, nothing will stop him from having an affair and that any concerns about nationality are invalid. It is a misconception, Al-Ghamdi points out, to stereotype in this way based on nationality.

“If there is to be a reasonable analysis, we should ask why Moroccan women know how to attract and keep their men,” said Al-Ghamdi, suggesting that Saudi women who feel threatened should take a closer look at themselves.

“There is no black magic in a relationship between a man and woman. But there is the magic of love, caring and tolerance,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that some women do not know how to understand their men and show tolerance toward them.

Tolerance, according to Al-Ghamdi, means being able to overcome problems and disputes and show love and femininity.

Moroccan women, in his opinion, are feminine by default. “They feel and express their femininity and surrender to their husbands, which is in their nature, while other women might look at it as degrading,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that marriages involving Moroccan women in the Kingdom are not a trend that could threaten Saudi women.

Teaching love, Al-Ghamdi believes, is one way to reduce Saudi women’s fear of being threatened by other women.

“Aisha, the wife of Prophet (peace be upon him), was the first to open a ‘school for women.’ She was teaching women about even the most intimate details of their lives with their husbands.

We need more of this teaching, instead of the rigid curriculum we are teaching girls in schools,” said Al-Ghamdi, stressing that even Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “there is no alternative for love but to marry.”

In his opinion this is a clear sign that there is love before marriage or at least strong admiration and desire, on which homes should be built to dispel any such threats.

Moroccan Women on Their Way to Work as Maids in Saudi Arabia

Here is a piece from Arab News about the establishment of new recruitment companies to facilitate the importation of Moroccan women to work as maids in Saudi Arabia.

Anyone familiar with the general treatment maids receive in Saudi and the way Saudis view Moroccan women will find little to feel encouraged about with this new development. Let us pray that the women will actually be treated humanely and not forced into other less honorable professions.
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Moroccan maids on their way

By ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 9, 2011 22:22 Updated: Sep 9, 2011 22:22

RIYADH: The recruitment companies that are to be established soon will be licensed to bring in housemaids from Morocco, East Asia and South Africa, Al-Watan Arabic newspaper reported Friday quoting Saad Al-Baddah, chairman of the recruitment committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Al-Baddah added a caveat to the recruitment process of housemaids from Morocco saying that immediate employment of Moroccan maids could prove an issue as there were no official recruitment offices in Morocco to process the papers of prospective domestic helps.

He, however, said there could be a way around the problem with the citizens being given work visas to bring housemaids from Morocco on their own.

The chairman warned Saudi citizens against contacting any offices claiming to be able to send housemaids from Morocco to the Kingdom.

“They are all fake. You should not heed the false claims of these fake offices,” Al-Baddah warned prospective employers.

The spokesman of the Labor Ministry, Hattab Al-Anzi, said the recruitment offices would grant citizens work visas for housemaids from Morocco.

“It is now the responsibility of the citizen to look for authorized private recruitment offices to bring workers from Morocco,” he said.

The spokesman said the new recruitment companies to be established soon would be licensed to import housemaids from Morocco.

Moroccan Poet Wins Ashiqat Poetry Contest for Arab Women

Here is an article about the Ashiqat poetry contest and first prize winner Bahija Nahoudi from Morocco who won for her poem, بقايا امرأة or,"Remains of a Woman" The poem is also pasted below in Arabic.
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By MARRIAM N MOSSALLI | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jun 2, 2011 15:18 Updated: Jun 2, 2011 16:58

anaZahra.com and Yves Saint Laurent celebrate the winners of Ashiqat poetry contest

Ashiqat, the region wide poetry contest for Arab women initiated by anaZahra.com in collaboration with celebrated Saudi poetess May Kutbi, and inspired by Belle, the new oriental fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, concluded its ten-week run on a festive note, with a recital celebrating the winners of the poetry writing contest. The six winners, determined by audience voting on anaZahra.com, will be featured on Ashiqat 2, a follow-up to May’s successful lyrical debut album.

The competition received nearly one thousand of entries from women across the Middle East: UAE, KSA, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco."The level of participation has surpassed our expectations. We were looking for individuality, creativity and potential and were delighted to see so many talented and confident women join Ashiqat”, said May Kutbi who screened all entries and selected the finalists on a weekly basis, alongside a distinguished panel of Arab poets and journalists.


The following are brief profiles of the winners:

Bahija Nahoudi from Morocco, placed first garnering 2,083 votes from anaZahra audiences for her poem Bakaya Imra’a (Remains of a Woman).

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بقايا امرأة

بهيجة ناهودي - المغرب


سئمتُ شكي
سئمت اكتئابي
سئمتُ أسئلةدون جوابِ
سئمتُ أرضا ته تز فوقهاأقدامي
وأصطدم فيها بالحائط والجدارِ
سئمت ضعفي
سئمتُ يقيني بأنني
في حياتك،
الإختيارالثاني

سئمتُ بقاياامرأة أخرى
سئمتُ منك حبا
يشبه الشفقةأوالعطفَ
فهي ما تركَت لي منك شيئا
لَعِبَت دور البطولة في كل القضايا
وكَتبَت لنا أنا وأنت دورالضحايا
ما تركت لي إلا أشلاء وبقايا

أخذَت نارك وإحساسك المجنوْن
أخذَت ورودك وكل الغصوْن
ما تركَت لي إلا أشواكا وشجوْن
ما تركَت لي إلا صمتا و سكوْن
وخنجرا يمزق أحشائي بجنوْن
كلما رأيتها بعينيك تجول

أخذَت منك الفرح وحتى الْدُّموْع
ما تركَت لي إلا الدمع من الْشُّموْع

فهي لم تُغادرك يوما
ما زالت فيك سيفا
يذبحك بعنف إن تَذَكَّرْتَ
ما زالت فيك عطشا
بأنهاري وبحاري ما ارتوى
ما زالت فيك حمى
تقاوم دوائي بكل القوى
فإلى متى
ستدمرني حرائق بِغيرتي أنا أشعلها
وأمشي على أشواك لا ورود لها
إلى متى
/> سأدور كالإعصار في عواصفي ورياحي
وأخوض حربا بيني وبين كبريائي
إلى متى
سأقاوم شبح امرأة لم تُغادرك
والآن لا تُغادرني
وأرضى بدور البديلة في فيلم حياتي
إلى متى
سأرضى بقطرات حب منك
وأنا أموت من الظمإ
إلى متى يا قاتلي

أيا رجلا يزرع الآهات ب صدري
ويرسم التجاعيد على جبيني
لقد تعب الفؤاد من التسولِ
والإنتظارعلى باب الأضلعِ
وصبري خَلَّفَنِي وحيدة
على أرض الأحزانِ
أمشي على رماد آلاف سبقوني
أيا رجلا يكتب بدمائي
قصة أنيني
سألتك بالله
كفى استنزافا لشراييني
سألتك بالله
مَزِّق صفحاتها من دفاترك
أَو مَزِّق صفحاتي

Alarming Hike in Unmarried Mothers in Morocco

Here is an article from CNN about the 27,200 unmarried Moroccan women who became mothers in 2009. There are a lot of steps that should be taken before mere "acceptance" of unwed mothers such as improving youth employment and financially assisting youth to get married.Increasing education opportunities for females. Also, basic sex education and improved access to birth control. Holding Moroccan males responsible for their inappropriate sexual behavior is a great idea too - these women didn't get pregnant all by themselves.
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Study reveals alarming hike in unmarried mothers in Morocco
By Martin Jay, for CNN
May 3, 2011 -- Updated 1945 GMT (0345 HKT)


* A recent study says number of unwed mothers in Morocco rose dramatically from 2008
to 2009
* Study shows 60% of unwed mothers are younger than 26 and a third younger than 20
* Strong prejudice still remains against unwed mothers from most groups of society

A recent study published by a Casablanca support group for single mothers says the number of Morocco's unmarried mothers in 2009 is at least double those in 2008 -- 27,200 compared with 11,016 the year before, according to the Institution Nationale de Solidarite Avec Les Femmes en Distresse.

As in most Muslim countries, it is considered an intolerable shame on a family in Morocco if a daughter falls pregnant outside marriage. In many cases, families totally reject a daughter who becomes pregnant before marriage.

Morocco's unmarried mothers are mostly young, said Houda El Bourahi, the institute's director. The study shows 60% are younger than 26 and a third younger than 20, she said.

According to the 350-page report, the mothers are often in "vulnerable" professions, such as house servants, and the majority have a low level of schooling. Often, the women believe that their sexual partners will marry them, and so agree to their demands, according to the study.

Despite Morocco being modern in so many respects, strong prejudice still remains against unwed mothers from most groups of society.

"It's time to put an end to prejudices held against these women though who are considered by (Moroccan) society as prostitutes," El Bourahi said. "These women are rejected by their families and by society and are not protected by the law."

Since the end of last year, 7,000 women in Casablanca alone had been assisted at the organization's Center of Listening on the outskirts of the city, the commercial capital of Morocco with a population of almost 4 million. Furthermore, 2,000 children have been accepted legally by the civil state and 540 have been recognized by their fathers.

The women's rights agenda has accelerated dramatically in recent years in Morocco largely following an initiative by King Mohammed VI to give women more equality, both at home and in the workplace. A new law adopted in 2004 gave women more rights as wives, for example.

Still, few men accept unmarried mothers and their offspring despite less of a stigma these days toward women who take up jobs and consider virginity to be an outdated virtue. While many men consider single mothers to be prostitutes, sex workers reportedly represent a tiny percentage of Morocco's unmarried mothers.

Turkish Men Becoming "Marriage Magnets" for Moroccan Women

Here is an article from Hurriyet, a Turkish paper about the rising number of Moroccan women marrying Turkish men, sometimes to be second wives.
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SE Turkish men becoming marriage magnet for Moroccan women

Thursday, January 6, 2011
NEZİR GÜNEŞ
MARDİN - Doğan News Agency (DHA)

National boundaries and a distance of thousands of kilometers have proven no obstacle to love with hundreds of Moroccan women choosing to abandon their lives in North Africa for marriage, often as second wives, in Mardin.

During the past two years, more than 400 Moroccan women have moved to the southeastern province of Mardin to become the wives of Turkish men they met online, Doğan news agency, or DHA, reported earlier this week, adding that 150 Moroccan-Turkish couples tied the knot in the first 10 months of 2010.

The influx of Moroccan women began after villages in the area started opening their first Internet cafés. When the province’s Gökçe jurisdiction opened its first such location, local men – regardless of their marital status – began chatting with Moroccans over the Internet. Following marriage proposals, several moved to Mardin, in some cases accepting the existence of the men’s first wives who also live in the same house.

After two more Internet cafés opened in Gökçe, more local men reportedly found Moroccan women on Internet. In addition to several bachelors, 15 married men asked women to move to Turkey to live with them.

The transition for the Moroccans is easier because many of the villagers already speak Arabic thanks to their ethnic background.

Some 40 Moroccan women were said to be living in the province’s jurisdictions of Gökçe last year, up from the 15 previously.

In nearby Ortaköy, 10 Moroccan women have now taken up residency. Some of the women can reportedly speak Arabic, French, Spanish and English and many have university degrees.

Turkey does not legally recognize polygamous marriages but the practice still exists in some areas. Second wives are married in religious or cultural ceremonies and have few legal rights. However, because of their interpretation of Islamic beliefs, many of the women have said there is nothing wrong with being involved in a polygamous relationship.

First Moroccan brides in the district

Monia, who did not give her last name, was reportedly the first Moroccan bride to come to Gökçe. Calling her marriage to 36-year-old Halit Öncel “fortune,” she said she wanted to share her life with her new husband. Öncel already has a wife and 11 children from his first marriage.

Öncel said he first identified himself to Monia as a single man, but later told her the truth before proposing two months later. Monia accepted, and Öncel legally divorced his wife before legally marrying Monia. The new couple has a son, Yunus Emre, from the marriage, but continues to live together with the first wife and the other children.

Monia reportedly graduated from a religious university in Morocco and speaks French fluently.

Aziza Eroğlu, another Moroccan university graduate who was teaching French in a kindergarten in Morocco, also agreed to move and live in Mardin as a second wife to İskender Eroğlu.

“She fell in love with me and accepted all the consequences,” said Eroğlu, adding that because of his first marriage, his marriage to Aziza was not legal, but that the three lived together without problems.

“Despite her good life in Morocco, she came here because she fell in love,” he said.

Jamila, who also did not give her last name, was the first Moroccan woman to move to southeastern Turkey as a legal wife, according to official records. The woman, who speaks French and Spanish, worked at a textile factory until she met and agreed to marry Samir Bozdağ. Following a Moroccan-style wedding in the North African country, the couple settled in Gökçe.

Gökçe Mayor Haluk Çelik said all of the marriages were organized beyond the municipality’s control. “Our Moroccan wives, who on average speak three languages, attend Turkish literacy courses organized by the Kızıltepe Public Training Center.”

Divorced Moroccan Women to Recieve Financial Support from the Government صندوق مغربي يمنح النفقة للمطلقات

This is great news for women and children ( and society as a whole) in Morocco. Hopefully it pulls some women out of the trials and disgrace of desperation. This article from Al-Magharebia reports that the Moroccan government will start providing support for divorced women if their ex-husbands disappear or are unable to provide such support. We post the article in English and Arabic (Please excuse some of the formatting issues).
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Moroccan divorcees to receive nafaqa from government fund

2010-11-18

A long-awaited financial assistance programme for Moroccan female divorcees begins in 2011.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 18/11/10


Seven years after Morocco's Moudawana, or Family Code, authorised financial help for divorced women, the Family Solidarity Fund will finally take effect on January 1st, 2011.

The House of Representatives on Thursday (November 4th) unanimously passed a bill authorising payment of alimony (nafaqa) to women and minor children if the ex-spouse defaults.

Justice Minister Mohamed Naciri told legislators that the fund aims to promote family solidarity and social cohesion. Some 500 million dirhams allocated for 2011 will be available for immediate disbursement.

Moroccan women without income often struggle because judicial decrees on alimony are slow to be enforced. Left on their own and with children in tow, these divorced women have to get by without any help.

Samira R. is 34 years old. Divorced at the age of 22, and left with a newborn daughter, she has been unable to get the courts to enforce the nafaqa ruling.

"My ex-husband has gone into hiding so that he doesn't have to pay anything. The courts haven't been able to track him down, even though he's a trader and can cater to the needs of his only daughter," she said.

For twelve years, Samira has been working as a maid so that her daughter Nora, a first-year secondary school student, can "continue with her studies and extricate herself from the vulnerable position they are living in". In January, Samira will be able to apply for money from the family court that issued the alimony ruling.

Under the new law, destitute divorced mothers and their children will be eligible for support after two months of non-payment, in cases where the alimony decree cannot be enforced, and "where the husband is absent".


Court-ordered alimony must be strictly enforced, because in some cases, the father has the wherewithal to pay but is not "sufficiently" compelled to perform this duty, MP and lawyer Fatima Moustaghfir told Magharebia. She said that the creation of the fund is a brave step, but should not encourage fathers to shirk their obligations.

"The marriage contract must include clear articles concerning the rights of both parties," she said, adding that taking action before marriage avoids needless problems and divorce.

Although there is a reconciliation procedure that spouses can resort to prior to divorce, it is difficult for judges to implement it properly, given the high number of divorce cases that are heard every day, the MP explained.

"The essential requirement for marriage is continuity. If it is dysfunctional from the beginning, the only result can be social problems. Both spouses must be compatible in every respect," she said.
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صندوق مغربي يمنح النفقة للمطلقات
2010-11-18

يدخل برنامج للمساعدة المالية للمطلقات المغربيات طال انتظاره حيز التنفيذ في 2011.

سهام علي من الرباط لمغاربية – 18/11/10


سبع سنوات بعد سماح المدونة المغربية أو قانون الأسرة بمنح المساعدة المالية لفائدة المطلقات، يدخل صندوق التضامن الأسري حيز التنفيذ في فاتح يناير 2011.

وصادق مجلس النواب الخميس 4 نوفمبر بالإجماع على مشروع قانون يسمح بدفع النفقة للنساء والأطفال القاصرين في حالة تخلّف الزوج السابق عن الدفع.

وزير العدل محمد الناصري قال للمشرعين إن الصندوق يهدف إلى تعزيز التضامن الأسري والتماسك الاجتماعي. وتم رصد حوالي 500 مليون درهم لسنة 2011 ستكون متاحة للصرف الفوري.

وعادة ما تعاني النساء المغربيات بدون دخل لأن الأوامر القضائية حول النفقة تأخذ وقتًا قبل دخول حيز التنفيذ. وفي ضوء هذا الوضع، يكون على المطلقات المتروكات لحالهن مع أطفالهن تدبر أمورهن دون أية مساعدة.

سميرة ر. تبلغ 34 عامًا. وهي تطلقت في سن 22 عامًا وتُركت مع طفلتها الرضيعة، ولم تكن قادرة على دفع المحاكم لتطبيق حكم النفقة.

وقالت "زوجي السابق اختبأ لكي لا يضطر لدفع أي شيء. لم تتمكن المحاكم من تقفي أثره رغم أنه تاجر وبإمكانه تلبية مصاريف ابنته الوحيدة".

وتعمل سميرة طوال اثنتى عشرة سنة كخادمة لكي تتمكن ابنتها نورا، وهي الآن تلميذة في السنة الأولى ثانوي، من "مواصلة تعليمها وإنقاذ نفسها من هذا الوضع الهش الذي تعيشان فيه". وفي يناير، بإمكان سميرة طلب المال من محكمة الأسرة التي أصدرت حكم النفقة.

وبموجب القانون الجديد، فإن المطلقات وأطفالهن مؤهلون للاستفادة من الدعم من شهرين من عدم الأداء، وفي الحالات التي لا يمكن فيها تطبيق أحكام النفقة و"عندما يكون الزوج غائبًا".

ويجب تطبيق أحكام النفقة الصادرة عن المحكمة بحذافيرها لأنه في بعض الحالات يكون الأب قادرًا على دفع النفقة لكن لا يُجبر "بشكل كاف" للقيام بهذا الواجب حسب قول البرلمانية والمحامية فاطمة مستغفر لمغاربية. وقالت إن تأسيس الصندوق خطوة جريئة لكنها لا ينبغي أن تشجع الآباء على التملص من التزاماتهم.

وأوضحت "عقد الزواج يجب أن يتضمن بنودًا صريحة تبين حقوق كلا الطرفين"، مضيفة أن اتخاذ إجراءات قبل الزواج ستحول دون الوقوع في مشاكل غير ضرورية وفي الطلاق.

وبالرغم من وجود مسطرة صلح يمكن أن يلجأ إليها الزوجان قبل الطلاق، يصعب على القضاة تطبيقها بشكل سليم بالنظر إلى الأعداد الكبيرة لقضايا الطلاق التي تبت فيها المحاكم كل يوم حسب البرلمانية.

وختمت بالقول "الشرط الرئيسي للزواج هو الاستمرارية. إذا كان هناك خلل من البداية فإن النتيجة الوحيدة التي قد تنشأ هي المشاكل الاجتماعية. فيجب أن يكون الزوجان متوافقين في كافة الجوانب"

Spain Needs Moroccan Women for the Strawberry Season

It seems as if Moroccan women are often called upon to use their bodies for someone else's benefit. Here is an article from FreshPlaza.com about Moroccan women going to Spain to plant fruit.In general these women are given contracts to work for a few months in Spain. Married women with children are chosen because it is assumed that they will return to their families when the planting is done.
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Spain: Moroccan Workers Needed for Strawberry Season

The planting of strawberries that will begin in the province of Huelva will require foreign workers despite high profile campaigns by La Junta de Andalucía to encourage the training of local workers.


Government deputy in Huelva, Manuel Bago, announced the quota of almost one thousand contracts after meeting with the Committee on Migration Flows, the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, employers and unions. 700 Moroccan women will travel to Huelva, as they are needed, to plant strawberries, and another 264, also Moroccan, for the raspberry harvest, which will begin in the up-coming weeks.


The economic crisis and high unemployment in Andalucía might suggest that local workers would return to the fields and easily cover the 9,000 workers which are required for planting of the 6,500 hectares in Huelva. But no, the strawberry entrepreneurs are not going to take any chances.



Publication date: 10/21/2010
Author: Maria Jaramillo
Copyright: www.freshplaza.com

Moroccan Bachelors Seek Wives who Work

This piece from Magharebia about the status of marriage and mate selection in Morocco now speaks for itself.
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Moroccan bachelors seek wives who work

2010-08-09

The process of courtship and marriage is changing for many Moroccans, with financial questions looming larger than ever.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 09/08/10


The classic Moroccan ideal of marriage is giving way to modern necessities. Men's pursuit of a soul mate is changing, as are the days of parents choosing the right bride for their sons.

These days, many men begin by looking at the financial situation of their future spouse. Although not long ago men used to seek women who had no job aspirations, so they would be free to take care of the housework, things are different now. The high cost of living is spurring them to seek brides who are working and can help them make ends meet.

"Young men are not greedy, but they are trying to adapt to the times," said sociologist Hamid Soundoussi.

Marriage represents one more institution undergoing change in Morocco due to eroding purchasing power, he continued. "Once upon a time, a primary school teacher could easily support his family single-handedly, but that has become very difficult now. The marriage age has risen in Morocco due to the increase in the cost of living. The concept of mutual financial help between spouses is a fairly recent one, especially in urban areas."

For 33-year-old Farid Laafraoui, the search for a wife has lasted three years. He set a number of criteria that his future spouse must meet, including the need for her to have a job. He told Magharebia that the time when love came before marriage has passed.

"Love is essential, but it is built following marriage on the basis of mutual respect," he said. "If a couple's financial situation is stable, they will have fewer problems. My monthly wage is just 5,000 dirhams. A second income will be necessary to run the household and pay for the children to go to school."

Farid is one of many people who are attributing their focus on women's financial circumstances to the new demands of daily life. Women are also aware of the change and are placing higher demands on men in return.

Narjiss Bahaoui, a 28-year-old bank clerk, said that several men close to her family and at her workplace had made overtures towards her, but that she preferred someone "ready" to tie the knot.

"Since feelings are not a major criterion for marriage, I have the right to marry a husband who already has a flat and a nice car," she said. "But despite everything, I'm willing to abandon these preconditions for someone who would love me for myself and not my monthly income. I'm both romantic and realistic at the same time."

Some women are now so sceptical of the greed of suitors that they become hardened singletons and end up regretting it.

One such woman, 44-year-old Houda T., is a manager with a large company in Casablanca. She turned down several offers of marriage over the years because she always had doubts about the men's real intentions.

"I learned rather late that I shouldn't be so mistrustful," she said. "I should have gone for it with one of them and settled down. My success in my career has not lessened my desire to have a home and children, like my sisters and friends, especially since society takes a dim view of unmarried women, and this causes me a lot of stress."

Some young women say one should be realistic and objective, and not take a prejudiced view of men. The sexual equality they strive for presupposes the same rights and responsibilities for both parties in a marriage.

"Since women have always demanded a husband who has a job, men also have the right to marry a woman who is working in this society of ours, which is becoming more modern," said 22-year-old law student Souad Chatibi. "This doesn't mean that a home can't be built on the foundations of love and respect."

Saudi Arabia Refuses Moroccan Women Visas for Umra Fearing Prostitution

We dont usually post pieces from blogs but there are no good news pieces in English on the Saudi ban on Moroccan woman obtaining visas for Umra ( the "lesser" pilgrimage). This is a reprehensible, hypocritical move by the government of Saudi Arabia that should be protested. Here is the Guardian blog piece. We have also pasted an Arabic language article from Aljazeera that gives more detail .
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Saudi ban on Moroccan women is a stereotype too far
In banning Moroccan women from a pilgrimage in case they are prostitutes, Saudi Arabia is failing in its Islamic duties

Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 August 2010 13.00 BST
We all like to stereotype. Whether it's about different regions in a country or other countries, we all indulge in a bit of reductionism and comic typecasting. The British laugh at the French, Europeans poke fun at Americans and it is all reciprocated in (mostly) harmless badinage.

In the Arab world, we have our memes too: the Sudanese are lazy, the Egyptians are jokers, the Lebanese are flamboyant, etc. Arabic TV is replete with comedy shows that paint wide brush-strokes (in some cases, quite literally, as actors are "blacked up" to act the roles of African Arabs) at the expense of different Arab nationalities.

Although this sometimes crosses the line firmly into the territory of the distasteful (it's not a very politically correct environment in general), it is usually accepted in good humour. The region is very much still in the Mind Your Language phase.

Recently, however, two Gulf countries – Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – have provoked Morocco's ire. The Kuwaiti channel, al-Watan, has apologised to Moroccans for the animated comedy series Bu Qatada and Bu Nabeel, which sparked outrage for its improper depiction of Moroccan women as scheming witches plotting to ensnare rich Kuwaiti husbands by casting spells on them.

Last month, in another, rather under-reported incident, Saudi Arabia banned Moroccan women "of a certain age" from umra (the lesser pilgrimage), for fear they would abuse theirs visas "for other purposes" even when they are accompanied by male relatives.

This is a reference to an underground sex industry that is believed to be staffed by Arab women smuggled in from the Maghreb and north Africa. Short of calling all Moroccan women prostitutes and their men pimps, there is little more that could have been done to summarily insult the nation. The implication that Moroccans will exploit a visa for a sacred religious ritual to trade and facilitate sexual favours only serves to rub more salt into the wound.

The francophone Maghreb, especially Morocco, is stereotyped by wealthier and more outwardly conservative Arab nations as louche in cultural disposition and morally lax through poverty.

Morocco, of course, is a popular destination for Gulf tourists – ostensibly because it is perceived to be morally lax and poor enough to accommodate demands that would not be met elsewhere. In 2007, in order to regulate marriages, a law was passed in Morocco obliging married Saudi men to have notified their Saudi wives first before entering into marriage with Moroccan women. These local second wives usually acquire demi-monde status as their husbands then abandon them, only returning for conjugal visits.

Instead of diverting resources to investigate and tackle the problem within Saudi Arabia, the blame and responsibility for the problem has been placed squarely on the shoulders of Moroccan women. This, if I may indulge in a little generalisation myself, is a characteristic way of dealing with issues that touch on morality. Sweep under the carpet, blame the other, and if all else fails, ban something.

Moroccan political parties have entreated parliament to intervene. Leaving aside the effrontery, Saudi Arabia has a duty to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca for all Muslims worldwide. I would therefore suggest, in order to mitigate the problem and in the spirit of slanderous generalisation, that Saudi men be banned from Morocco, lest they use their tourist visas for "other purposes".
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سفارة الرياض تؤكد تطبيق الضوابط
الفتيات المغربيات ممنوعات من العمرة



القنصلية السعودية بالرباط بررت قرارها بـ"صغر سن" الفتيات المتقدمات للحصول على التأشيرة، واحتمال وجود نوايا أخرى غير العمرة (الجزيرة-أرشيف)


الجزيرة نت-الرباط


أثار رفض المصالح القنصلية السعودية بالمغرب منح تأشيرة العمرة لقريبات المعتمرين استياء كبيرا في الشارع المغربي، بسبب ما اعتبر أنه محاكمة لنوايا المعتمرات واتهامهن بطريقة غير مباشرة باتخاذ العمرة مطية لأهداف أخرى.


وقد حرم هذا القرار مئات من الراغبات في العمرة من التوجه إلى الديار المقدسة، رغم أنهن مرافقات بآبائهن أو أقاربهن، كما أن بعضهن تعودن التوجه إلى العمرة كل شهر رمضان.


وبررت الجهات القنصلية بسفارة المملكة العربية السعودية قرارها بـ"صغر سن" الفتيات المتقدمات للحصول على التأشيرة، و"احتمال وجود نوايا أخرى غير العمرة"، وهو الأمر الذي أثار حفيظة كثيرين رأوا في القرار اتهاما لشرف هؤلاء الفتيات.


واعتبر فريق حزب العدالة والتنمية الإسلامي بالبرلمان أن ما قامت به المصالح القنصلية السعودية يمثل "إهانة" للفتيات المغربيات الشريفات"، و"حطا من كرامة المرأة المغربية".

حق ديني
وطالب الحزب وزارة الخارجية المغربية بالتدخل عاجلا، لوقف "الشطط" في التعامل مع الفتيات المغربيات، ووضع حد لما سماه "الجروح البليغة" التي تركها القرار في نفوس عائلات هؤلاء الفتيات.


وقال رئيس فريق حزب العدالة والتنمية في البرلمان مصطفى الرميد إن حزبه تلقى شكاوى من مواطنين مغاربة، رفضت ملفات بناتهم، لمرافقتهم إلى العمرة بسبب ما اعتبره، محاولة "لتعميم صورة سيئة عن المرأة المغربية".


وعبر الرميد في تصريح للجزيرة نت عن رفضه للقرار السعودي، الذي "يحرم المرأة المغربية من حقها الديني" في العمرة، معتبرا أن حالات بعض الآباء المغاربة الذين عادوا من العمرة دون بناتهم هي حالات نادرة ومعزولة ولا يمكن تعميمها، ولا اتخاذها ذريعة لحرمان شريحة واسعة من النساء والبنات من التوجه إلى الأراضي المقدسة.


ضوابظ تنظيمية
في المقابل نفت سفارة المملكة العربية السعودية بالمغرب ما سمته بـ"التعامل بالنوايا" في موضوع منح التأشيرة، نافية في نفس الوقت وجود أي "تمييز" في منحها بين الرجال والنساء.

واعتبرت السفارة في بيان لها، أن ما يحسم في موضوع الحصول على التأشيرة من عدمه هو الخضوع للشروط والضوابط التنظيمية، وهو ما تطبقه جميع سفارات المملكة العربية السعودية في العالم، كما جاء في البيان.

Moroccan Female Soccer Players Fight Uphill Battle for Resources

Here is an interesting article/radio piece about struggling female soccer leagues in Morocco. It is from a Chicago Public Radio show called Worldview. Click on the title below if you would like to hear the story. The text is below. Worldview - Moroccan Female Soccer Players Fight Uphill Battle for Resources
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In Moroccan society today female players who fought and won the right to play soccer have a new battle on their hands. They have a professional league, but they still lag far behind Morocco’s male players when it comes to the basics of the game- time, space and money.

Lisa Matuska reports from the Moroccan city of Casablanca that female football players today are entering the male-dominated field by the hundreds, and demanding a space to play.

Ambi soccer game

Saadia Salah is watching a local women’s football team- called Nassim- play a scrimmage. The team plays in Salah’s neighborhood of Sidi Moumen- a sprawling, low-income suburb of Casablanca.

ambi soccer game

A former player herself, Salah, 38, says when she played there were no girls teams. she would have to sneak out onto the field just to get in a few touches on the ball-

SALAH: the boys they would follow us throwing stones, when we would enter the field, they would climb the walls and throw rocks and we would stop playing, Then women wearing traditional clothing, they would peak over the wall and they would say, “come look come look,” they would call each other and just stare at us. We got embarrassed so we stopped. It was like they were kicking us out by just staring

Today many of the girls practicing here play in head scarves- wrapped extra tight, for sport. A group of boys huddles outside the fence, watching and criticizing almost every touch the girls make. Nassim is one of 24 teams in Morocco’s premier division for women’s football. The league began in 2004 and is run by the same federation as the men’s teams But Nassim’s coach Adil Farass says the women’s league is more disorganized.

FARASS: they told us this season there will be support but nothing has come, when we went to play Fqih Ben Salah we borrowed money for transport, today the referees came and we had to borrow money to pay them.

It’s difficult to compare the structure of men’s and women’s football in Morocco. Professional men’s football is supported by a youth structures like neighborhood teams, camps, and academies. Women’s football has no organizational youth structures. So when young girls want to play football, they have to join the boys in the streets.

JRAIDI: One day I was playing and Farass was with his boys team and he saw me play and came up to me and said, “you must play with my team, you play well and you have good skill” and from then on I was with him in Sidi Moumen.

Jraidi says now there are many more girls in the streets playing football.

JRAIDI: Now the problems are money, field, and the federation, we still haven’t gotten our stipend yet.

The stipend is small. Each women’s team gets 30 thousand dirham (that’s 4 thousand dollars) a year to cover costs like equipment, transportation and referees. If they have enough, the coaches try to give the girls extra money when they win. The men’s teams receive about twice that amount from the federation. Male players in the premier divisions typically have salaries that exceed what one girls’ team gets in a year.

Plus, the men’s teams get support from a well-established football industry- generating money from TV coverage, sponsorship and ticket sales. Girls’ teams in Morocco have looked for outside support, but few companies are lining up to sponsor them. Women’s games, which are free, don’t usually draw a crowd, let along a paying crowd.

Radio Mars show

Once a week on this daily sports radio show, Journalist Hassan Manyani covers women’s football - he interviews federation officials and coaches and people are calling in.

MANYANI: It’s the mentality around women and also it’s the federation which hardly manages to provide support or funds for the men’s leagues, so now there is a sort of awareness that it has to reorganize and develop women’s football but its coming, there is an awareness and this is already a good thing.

Officials from Morocco’s soccer federation did not make themselves available for this story, but Manyani predicts solutions will not come easily. One of the biggest obstacles is that most of these girls in the league are also still in high school. Men at their level are usually older, or don’t need to stay in school- for them football can be a job.

Soccer’s international regulating body, FIFA, held a symposium on women’s football three years ago. It said the next step to develop the sport is to have more women as referees, coaches and administrators.

BOUBIA: The Green Walker, This is my first team

Amel Boubia is a volunteer coach for the Nassim team.

BOUBIA: I wanted to play with Raja Ain Harouda but I stopped to practice football because I wanted to be a coach, I passed some course for football and now I coach team Nassim Hay Mohammadi.

She’s heard that this season the Moroccan federation is looking to give extra money for coach’s salaries for the women’s teams. But she’s skeptical. 37-year-old Boubia has an impressive resume in women’s sports: as a player and a coach she’s participated in women’s football camps all over Morocco. But Boubia says she still can’t find a salaried job in female sports. She uses herself as a cautionary tale.

BOUBIA: the girls must give importance for their study because the sport now is without salary and not job, you can practice sport only for your health and your feeling, not for a job.

Boubia also knows that as girls get older, more of them are pressured to leave the game by their families and society. And in her own job search now, she’s given up on Morocco- she’s practicing her English in hopes of finding a job outside the country. And that’s hard, because she sees something unique in the Nassim girls, and she’s like to continue to coach them.

BOUBIA: For the Nassim team, I think they have a good future because they’re all around the same age, they were born in 95, 94, 93 and they have potential, so hopefully they will do well.

Ambi sounds of Nassim game

On this morning Boubia watches as the team plays on a wet and rocky field. 18-year-old Ibtissam Jraidi is playing forward. While Jraidi’s playing, she isn't focused on the obstacles she’s overcome. She’s not thinking about advancing women's sport in a Muslim country, or giving confidence to young Moroccan girls. She says she’s here for another reason.

JRAIDI: Football, it’s mixed into my blood, I can’t spend a day without playing it.

And even the boys smirking behind the fence can’t argue with that one

Women of Morocco : Critiquing Exoticism

Here is an article from the New York Times Arts Section about the exoticism exercised upon the image of the Moroccan woman.

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Art Review | New Jersey
Reviving the Exotic to Critique Exoticism
By BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO
Published: March 4, 2010


“Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc,” an exhibition at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, draws attention to one of the most interesting if puzzling developments in contemporary art: a revival of exotic, often historical imagery of people from faraway places in the name of a critique of exoticism.



“Les Femmes du Moroc: Grand Odalisque”


Ms. Essaydi is a Moroccan-born, New York-based photographer who has risen to prominence for her beautiful, striking imagery dealing with the role of women in Islamic societies. But much like Shirin Neshat, Shahzia Sikander and other successful expatriate female artists from Muslim nations, she trades in stereotypes, reflecting back at us our own misconceptions and prejudices.

The current exhibition of work by Ms. Essaydi, a touring show from the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, in Lincoln, Mass., consists of 17 color photographs of Moroccan women dressed up and arranged into staged scenes appropriated from 19th-century European and American Orientalist paintings. Among her sources are paintings by well-known artists like Jean-Léon Gérôme, Eugène Delacroix, John Singer Sargent and Frederic Leighton.

The artist has scrawled Arabic calligraphy on her photographs. It is written in henna, which is used by women in South Asia and in some Islamic countries to decorate the hands, feet and body for marriage and other ceremonies. The calligraphy, loosely applied, is largely obscured by its presentation; for the most part it is illegible, even to those who read Arabic.

Though this is not a big show, the visual elegance of the works is overwhelming. They are beautiful and alluring; my immediate reaction on walking into the show was “Wow.” The impact can be attributed partly to the fetishistic and sometimes openly sexual aspects of the Orientalist originals, and partly to the decorative use of the calligraphy, which adds a pleasing patina of age.

Those who have studied art history will probably recognize several of the source images. “Les Femmes du Maroc: Grande Odalisque” (2008), showing a naked woman wrapped in a sheet on a bed, is an appropriation of Jean August-Dominique Ingres’s iconic painting “The Great Odalisque” (1819). Ms. Essaydi’s figure seems remote and unavailable to the viewer, unlike Ingres’s temptress.

While Ms. Essaydi changes her source images, stripping them of their luminous colors, removing male figures or replacing them with women, and covering up the nudity, I am not sure that she always transforms them enough. Too often her photographs look like an exercise in voyeurism, replicating rather than revising the stereotypical imagery she is working with.

Take, for example, “Les Femmes du Maroc #1” (2005), based on a Delacroix painting, “Algerian Women in Their Apartment” (1834), depicting three Arab women as slaves imprisoned in an exotic and secluded harem. Ms. Essaydi simplifies the setting by eliminating the colorful draperies and props, but her picture still retains some of the languorous sensuality of the original Orientalist painting.

My problem with these photographs is that Ms. Essaydi, by retaining the basic compositions, gestures and general style of dress of the original paintings, often leaves her women stuck in the same Orientalist fantasy that she purports to critique. Instead of changing the way in which we see Arab women, these photographs revive old-fashioned stereotypes.

“Les Femmes du Maroc #4” (2005) is an instantly striking photograph based on “The Slave Market” (circa 1867), one of Gérôme’s best and most famous paintings, which shows a slave woman having her teeth inspected by some prospective buyers. It depicts a degrading scene, the woman reduced to a piece of property. Nothing about Ms. Essaydi’s photographic copy changes this.

In the exhibition catalog, Nick Capasso, the show’s curator, argues that Ms. Essaydi presents us with images of women who are “empowered.” That’s the party line on these photographs. Sometimes I think it makes sense, as with “Les Femmes du Maroc: Grande Odalisque,” but at other times it just doesn’t work. I don’t see how there can be anything empowering about images of women as sex slaves.

No doubt the use of text on the images is meant to give these women a voice, to show them as more than just passive bodies. But given that the text is mostly illegible, it becomes just another decorative element enhancing the aesthetic appeal of what are essentially clichéd images of the East seen through the lens of Western desire.

“Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc,” Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, through June 6; (732) 932-7237 or
zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu.

The Trafficking of Moroccan Women in the United Arab Emirates

Sorry for the delay in posting. I have been "Reading Haiti," and actually traveled there to help in relief efforts. Here is a short article from the BBC about Moroccan women forced into prostitution in Abu Dhabi.
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Abu Dhabi court jails 13 for trafficking Moroccan women


A court in Abu Dhabi has jailed 13 Syrians for trafficking Moroccan women to the United Arab Emirates to work as prostitutes.

Seven men were given life sentences. Five other men and one woman were jailed for 10 years each.

According to court documents, the women - some as young as 19 - had been lured with the promise of well-paid work.

One man - described as the ringleader - escaped to Syria and was sentenced to life in prison in absentia.

An Ethiopian maid was sentenced to two months in jail.

The women were told they had to work as prostitutes to pay back the money it had allegedly cost to bring them from Morocco.

They said they had been locked up, beaten, starved and then chauffeured under guard to clients in hotels and homes.

Abu Dhabi police raided three flats after one of the women escaped from a villa in Al Bateen, where she was being held, in October last year.

Moroccan Carpet Confidential

Here is an article on the rug trade in Morocco and how the women who make the rugs rarely see the big bucks that tourists pay for them. Just another reason to bargain a bit harder next time you're in the souq.

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Moroccan carpet confidential


Rural women weavers struggle to earn a fair price for their intricate rugs.

By Erik German - GlobalPost
Published: November 13, 2009 06:20 ET
Updated: November 13, 2009 17:16 ET

KOURKOUDA, Morocco — It takes more than 20 pounds of raw wool and 60 days of handwork to fashion one of Morocco’s famous carpets. The weavers in this village say it’s hardly worth the effort.

“You can’t give a damn about carpets anymore,” said Rakia Nid Lchguer, 57, who, like many weavers in this country’s remote south, spent a decade perfecting her art, beginning at age 6. “The market barely repays the cost of the wool,” she said.

Morocco’s vibrant rugs come in a variety of styles — from flat-woven hanbels to the fuzzy creations crafted by Nid Lchguer and her neighbors. The pieces fetch hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars on carpet shop floors in Marakesh, Fez and abroad.

The rug stores are as common to Moroccan cities as bright lights on Broadway, and the haggling done inside is a visitor’s rite of passage. Hours can pass with merchants sipping tea, trading fibs with tourists about what the final price will be. Overpayment is the norm.

Yet middlemen ensure that little of that money finds it way back to villages like Kourkouda. While the World Bank estimates Moroccans make an average of $6 per day, in these arid hills south of the Atlas Mountains, that figure seems optimistic.

Seated on the cement floor of a home where she raised seven children, Nid Lchguer said immediate needs have sometimes forced her to sell a finished carpet for as little as $40. The raw materials cost her $33, she said.

While talking, she cleaned tufts of raw, ivory-colored wool by scraping it between two steel brushes. Her neighbor, Fadma Hassi, 65, stopped spinning yarn nearby and said, “That’s if you get to sell it.”

This time, the women have been lucky. Someone ordered on commission a plush carpet with roughly the same footprint as an American twin bed. With the help of a third neighbor, the weavers will split $50 three ways in exchange for an amount of labor that seems alien in a mechanized age.

The rug’s warp alone — a continuous string forming the piece’s vertical threads on the loom — will require hand-spinning a piece of yarn the length of 10 football fields. Among other tasks in the coming weeks, the women will hand-tie more than 100,000 knots no bigger than this lower-case o.

Not all Morocco’s carpets are crafted from hand-spun wool in isolated homes. Some weavers work in small cooperatives, others in factories. Some get their wool pre-spun at the market, others even buy synthetics. But the artisans — the overwhelming majority of whom are women — share similar problems.

“The money is not going to these ladies, for sure,” said Bouchra Hamelin of Al Akhawayn University, who teaches free marketing classes to Moroccan weavers and other artisans. “They don’t know how to write, how to read. They don’t have access to the internet so they don’t have access to customers.”

Instead, Hamelin said, men with trucks have access to the weavers. A middleman tours isolated villages and souks, buys low, drives to the cities, then sells high. “He is the person making the money,” she said.

Women in some villages have formed cooperatives in a bid to bypass middlemen. An association of 88 weavers in Anzal, about 35 miles from Kourkouda, have been marketing their wares directly to tourists since 2007. Like all the weavers interviewed for this story, they speak a local language called Tachelhit, which predates Arabic’s arrival to the region.

Even leaders of the group acknowledge that sales haven’t been stellar. The association’s treasurer, Zahara Ait Ali, said she’s only sold four carpets since the group was formed — a typical number, group members said — for a total of about $300. Still, she said, working through an association is better than going to the souk alone and haggling with a carpet dealer.

“The professionals in Marrakesh, the people who work in the bazaars, they try to drive the prices down,” she said. “In our region no one will speak out about low prices.” It’s hard to tell precisely how much of a cut the middlemen are taking. After all, concealing the wholesale price is the essence of the game. But a brief encounter with a traveling rug merchant named Mohammed Ait Tar offered a clue. Flagged down on a rutted mountain track, he showed off a load of carpets jammed to the ceiling of his tiny, diesel Citroen Berlingo.

He pulled out one plush, coffee-table sized carpet from a stack of rugs he said were woven nearby. What he did next underscored the warm hospitality visitors often encounter in this region, and also hinted at how little the piece must have cost him.

“Here,” he said. “A gift.”