Navigating Norms of Disability in Morocco

I found a journal article that speaks a bit about the discourse around people with disabilities in Morocco. Within the article, Ouknider et al. (2022) discuss the ways in which disabilities have been portrayed throughout Moroccan culture in the form of proverbs, literature, and policy. In old Arabic proverbs, disabilities such as blindness or small stature, are considered punishments from the divine and deserved. Therefore, proverbs say to beat or mistrust individuals with disabilities (Ouknider et al., 2022). Within the article, Ouknider et al. (2022) present a 2014 novel about a Moroccan child with down syndrome and say that family members see the child as a gift from God. However, the family members recognize the challenges the child will face within cultural norms with Morocco and even suggest taking him to France. Finally, within the policy realm, Ouknider et al. (2022) raise the point that the first census of people with disabilities (PWD) was held in 2004 and defined PWD as those with medical conditions that were impaired physically or mentally, therefore making it more difficult for them to perform "normal" activities. However, in 2014, there was a more progressive and social view of people with disabilities in Morocco in which the medical aspects of disabilities are recognized, but so are the environmental, societal, and personal factors that influence how positive or negative the situation of a PWD is. Some controversy happened in Morocco in 2017 when Framework Law 17.13 was approved by the government. This law primarily viewed PWD from a medical standpoint rather than recognizing both medical and social aspects could affect difficulty of PWD to function in society. Therefore, Ouknider et al. (2022) call upon cultural norms in Morocco to change regarding PWD, recognizing exclusion of PWD could negatively affect the Moroccan economy and that education of PWD is crucial to long-term solutions, changing prejudiced attitudes, and creating welcoming communities.

It seems as though Morocco is moving in the right direction, with programs such as this one, funded by the Government of Japan, seeking to increase urban transportation opportunities for people with limited mobility in Marrakesh. A pilot study provided many low-cost, high-impact ideas for increasing access for people with limited mobility and was able to disseminate those ideas to other cities in Morocco. This video shows some of the ways the city of Marrakesh has been improving to increase accessibility for PWD.

I guess I never really thought about the need for accessibility until it became a necessity for those I love. When my mom had a terrible car accident when I was 5, my dad and friends built a wooden ramp to the front door of our house. Up until that point in my life, I only ever remember using the side door because the steps were much more convenient to our parking area. However, the ramp opened up the possibilities for my mother to function as she was in a hospital bed, then a wheelchair, until she eventually walked using a leg brace for the remainder of her life. However, that ramp did not only benefit her. It made it easier for my paternal grandparents to move into the house and eventually for my grandfather to be on hospice there. It currently makes it possible for my maternal grandfather who is wheelchair-bound to be able to visit without too much trouble, making my parents' house one of the only places where family get-togethers can happen. The simple addition opened up so many possibilities that I have taken for granted beforehand because they are part of my everyday life. However, facing disabilities in another country can be daunting, and we are all in different stages of thoughts about disabilities across the world. I had never considered how important it is to consider the cultural norms that influence our thoughts on disabilities, not only in other cultures, but in our own. How does this influence how we handle policy, advocacy, and communication about the needs of PWDs? And what is it that we're taking for granted?

References

Ouknider, H., Bermime, Y., Benzidan, M., & Bouziane, A. (2022). The power of cultural normativity in Morocco: Disability and sexuality as examples. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 5(11), 44–55. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v6i11.629