Some good comments about Morocco women’s rights in this program, presented by Fareed Zakaria: [www.foreignexchange.tv] it aired tonight on PBS. Sameena Nazir, the Senior Research Coordinator for Freedom House, and Zainab Salbi, the President and CEO of Women for Women International, discuss the ups and downs of women’s rights in Islamic countries, they both praised the changes that took place in Morocco in regards to women’s rights, and it looked like they put Morocco ahead of many Muslim countries, Tunisia and Algeria were mentioned, too.
I'm very scared now. Maybe what I saw was an extreme, and not representative of the Moroccan people as a whole? I hope so.
I saw women being exploited, punched, used as domestic servants, verbally abused and if they did work, they had part of their salary taken off them to help support the family, and if they didn't, a huge amount of pressure put on them to either work or work in the house for everyone else, with no efforts to help them find a husband as their families seemed to have decided that no-one could ever want to marry them (but would not give them any opportunity to even talk to anyone who could be a prospective bridegroom). I was trying to tell them about their rights under Islam. All they had been taught were the rights of men and nothing about women, aside from hadiths about the virtues of those doing lots of housework, and being told it was the duty of the woman to never lose her temper, and to virtually put up with anything from her family or husband in the hopes of a reward from Allah ta ala. They also asked me what to do if their families had taken their rights from them and made all their decisions for them already. What can you say in a situation like that?? Take your rights back I guess, but they wouldn't hear of it, I guess because the consequences would be too great for them. (Maybe, I don't mean to put words into these people's mouths.)
Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I was really angry and horrified about the way these women were being treated by their families, and I hope it is not representative of other Moroccans, if so, then what would that say about the rest of the muslim world?? I've heard about the laws changing recently, but the mentality of people can take a lot longer to evolve, and the emotional scars of this kind of treatment can take a few generations to heal, as women who have been treated like this seem to do the same thing to their daughters (at least what I've seen - maybe again not representative) and so the cycle repeats itself.
What are your experiences of women's rights in Morocco? Inshallah I hope they really are changing.
I’m all in agreement with what you said and it’s really sad to those situations continue to exist. But what the program was about is more the introduction of modawana. The modawana, hated by fanatics and the ones who want to keep women under “CONTROL”, gives Moroccan women some important rights, is it enough? Not at all…but I think it’ll get better with the time. Salaam,
100 years ago,women weren't allowed to vote in the UK. They only got it because they fought for it. It took a tragedy to achieve it. The women's rights leader, Emily Pankhurst, had to give her life for the cause. In France it was the same. Women only got the right to vote after the second World War.Thanks to their sacrifices during the War. Without the women's help, England and France wouldn't have won the war. In fact it is the same for all the countries. Woman have to sacrifice too much. In Algeria, Palestine and many other countries. Men even in Europe used to think women were less intelligent and incapable to do a job like men. But with time, they have been proved wrong. Women are as intelligent as men and can do the job as well, if not better, than men. In the UK it was only in the 1960's that Women were eventually given the right to equal pay for an equal job. Today women are doing well and are as successful as men. More women are going to universities, it is a big differaece from what their mothers used to do. Cooking,washing and ironing for the men. Today there are doctors,lawyers, pilots, police inspectors,and just look at today - who landed the space shuttle safely back on Earth? A woman, of course. Women have more determination and courage than some men, especially those who are against women's rights and especially the so called islamists. I bet you anything none of those men will have the courage and the guts to sail single handed around the World in a small boat. A young women from Hull just did it, and beat the World record. Also, the one who for the first time flew a plane all the way to Australia was a women. It saddens me to see that in many countries of the World the debate is still going on whether or not to give Women their fundamental human rights! Shame on those countries! We are in the 21st century now, not back in the Dark Ages.
Not to mention that these rights are guaranteed already as of 1400 years ago if anyone bothers to study their own religion.
Frustrating!
Thankyou volvofan for pointing out what some women are doing, and they are only the more visible ones. What about those women raising children on their own, or dealing with chronic illness, or fighting against prejudice whether its sexism or racism or both and running a home on very little money, women who give birth, sometimes on their own without a husband, women who decide to stand up for things they believe in even if it costs them most of what they had... you are right that women have (to my mind) more determination, and courage, and perseverence, and also endurance. How else can you raise a child when everyone else (aside from other mothers) thinks it happens by accident.
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