Being a woman in Morocco is probably the hardest thing I've done. And it's not like I'm a sheltered girl, I've been places, I've certainly ridden my fair share of shady buses, but man. The harassment here is like no other. I guess I was expecting it, but not this much. The thing that really appalls me is the old men cat calling young women. Chances are, these old men have daughters, nieces or granddaughters. Don't they think about cat calling a young woman? Chances are, their female relatives get catcalled, and if I were a father, I would NOT want that for my young girl. Can't they understand that we are just like their daughters? Maybe we don't look exactly like them, but we're pretty damn similar. If you wouldn't want your daughter to go through that, you shouldn't to it to other young women.
My second point is that of young guys. Why? Why do you do it, why must you make women feel so uncomfortable? I may be coming off as the "misunderstanding" white girl..this may be "part of the culture", but doesn't anyone think it should change?
I dunno, maybe I should stop ranting. But this has been on my mind and I don't think it would be fair to deny my readers the pleasures of the "real" experience. This is what I have to go through everyday. This is what any woman- hijabi or not- has to go through every damn day. It sucks to think that men here feel that they have the right to talk to any woman, that women want the attention. They feel its ok to harass a woman, they think its ok to disturb a woman while she's reading peacefully in the plaza, not disturbing anyone. They think it's ok to make her pay less if the woman gives the man her number.
Well let me tell you. It's not.
My second point is that of young guys. Why? Why do you do it, why must you make women feel so uncomfortable? I may be coming off as the "misunderstanding" white girl..this may be "part of the culture", but doesn't anyone think it should change?
I dunno, maybe I should stop ranting. But this has been on my mind and I don't think it would be fair to deny my readers the pleasures of the "real" experience. This is what I have to go through everyday. This is what any woman- hijabi or not- has to go through every damn day. It sucks to think that men here feel that they have the right to talk to any woman, that women want the attention. They feel its ok to harass a woman, they think its ok to disturb a woman while she's reading peacefully in the plaza, not disturbing anyone. They think it's ok to make her pay less if the woman gives the man her number.
Well let me tell you. It's not.
Hi Ariel! I'm a YES student in Rabat right now and I wanted to let you know that I'm 100% with you in your frustrations. It's not okay, and I'm sure the situation is different between our two cities, but it has helped me to talk about the situation with my host sisters and other Moroccan women. Having endured it for much longer, I find that they have very helpful (and simple) strategies for avoiding it. I also found myself noticing it less this week than I had in weeks past, though I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Regardless, we're all in this together and if you ever come to Rabat let us YES kids know and we can show you around!
ReplyDeletehey! Yes of course we'll let you know :D Yea, I've talked to my host mom and sister about it..but its still frustrating. I've started to notice it less as well, and it is easy to ignore, nevertheless it's still frustrating.
ReplyDelete