Gender equity in Morocco

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Stereotypes of Muslim countries often portray misogyny and oppression of women.  While I would not say women find equity with men in Morocco, this country makes tremendous efforts to empower women and place them in traditionally male occupations in other countries, even the US.  We have found many women that are scientists, engineers, politicians, and in leadership managerial roles.   At L'Ecole Nationale Agriculture, Professor Dr. Ouszzani explained that most of their students were female.   We asked why this was.  He further explained that most Morrocan families send their sons to college abroad first and then allow the daughters to finish college in Morroco at a less expensive university.  This shows a hierarchy in families when it comes to education.  Secondly, in Chefchouen, we visited a mosque where the only woman to ever become a ruler of a city in Morocco ruled.  There has never been a female monarch.  The monarchy in Morocco is hereditary and is only passed down to the male heirs of the family.  Furthermore, it was mentioned that his majesty Mouhammed VI was the first king to ever publicly introduce his wife.  While Morocco is very progressive with women's empowerment, it is obvious that there are still some major gaps in gender equity.  

While Morocco has worked hard to narrow the educational gap between men and women, there is still a severe deficit of services available to women in rural areas. "For rural girls, a solution has yet to be found for the problems of generalized schooling, the low completion rate at the primary level (59% do not complete primary school compared to 20% of urban girls), and the still excessively low schooling rate at the secondary level. It is also important to mention that the incorporation of women in higher education occurs when degrees have been devalued and no longer guarantee career opportunities for one out of every three women"(Desrues, 2009).  According to Derues, the Moroccan government set a goal to eliminate illiteracy by 2015.   Today it is still a challenge and a goal the government is working towards. 

Likewise, women continue to fight for equity.  "Today, the network of associations for the promotion of women’s rights constitutes one of the most dynamic and active sectors of the emerging civil society in Morocco. These associations have proven themselves to be capable of interacting with other sectors of political and civil society at the national level (for example, pro-human rights associations or associations for local development) and with international organizations and movements such as the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Social Forum, among others" (Desrues, 2009).

That being said, Morocco still leads the Islamic Arab world in reform for women's rights and still is progressing further to close the gap in equity.  Visits like today to the Ennajah Women's Cooperative represents great strides in rural areas for women empowerment. 


See below the women from the cooperative and the UGA school of social work partnering with the UGA College of Agriculture and Environment Sciences. 


References

Desrues, T., & Nieto, J. M. (2009). The development of gender equality for Moroccan women - illusion or reality? Journal of Gender Studies, 18(1), 25-34. 10.1080/09589230802584220

Comments

  1. Sam OlveyJune 5, 2023 at 3:59 PM

    I agree that though Moroccan gender equality has a long way to go, the country has made notable efforts to bridge these divides. Where you noted the increased number of female students at the university, this fact was one that made me self-reflect. Though the numbers appear to show an increase in women's status, it is only when noted that the sons are usually sent abroad you get the full picture of women in higher education. Perspective changes such as that force us to go beyond initial assumptions, a great note about this trip!

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