Women Morocco 2022

My smile says it all

MOROCCO 2022

In public

Modesty in the summer time.

It is summer time and we are reaching 40 degrees. It is so hot in Meknes or Fez that I just feel like wearing a bikini and diving into the water. How can women here wear long gowns and cover almost every inch of their body and head?

I try to understand, but it seems like there are so many perspectives…The only idea to which all seem to agree is that its origin is religious and it implies modesty. But, what does modesty mean? Why do women have to act out of modesty? Which areas need to be covered to be modest and why? Why it is only women who need to show modesty if the religion is the same?

I don’t have answers, I only have thousands of questions. This is being discussed, especially in Europe, where countries have adopted different strategies on how to approach the use of the hijab at school or public spaces. Women are discussing, but I still remember rural grandmothers in Spain wearing black veils…

My first thought: Fuck this so called modesty, it is 40 degrees!!!

My second thought: I feel observed and I don’t like it

My third thought: All religions commands are dictated by men.

I have to admit I completely dislike the idea of being modest, especially in summer and if modesty is mandatory.

I have to admit I have many questions that remain unanswered in this trip.

Homemade pastries

Self made henna designs

I’m good at this

I am good at this and I can be good at that. It seems to be about roles…but why are those roles always the same depending on whether you are a man or a woman? I would have loved to have the girl who did the henna design showing us around the Medina and I would have love to see two siblings, brother and sister, carrying homemade pastries for Eid al-Adha, but tradition seems to be heavy on us and women continue to prepare pastry and boys continue to be tour guides.

I think it is that it is not necessary to take on all role models, but what I think is that it would be good if women considered they are good both at this and that.

So this is what it is all about…I wear my comfy Mickey Mouse pants under my black gown and grey hijab…Looks like a dressing oxymoron to me, but it is really the addition of the two layers the society is imposing on women. In Ifrane, the Moroccan Switzerland, summer is hot. Women open their upper layers in search of a little natural ventilation on their bodies.

Mickey sweatpants

I live in Ksar Meski. I am bereber and I attend school

It is Eid al Adha and we’d like to invite you to dinner.

Inprivate

Abdul and Latifa. Latifa and Abdul.

Abdul defines himself as a business man. Abdul calls Latifa to tell her he is bringing a family of Spaniards to have some tea. Latifa prepares tea and shares homemade pastries. We have entered the private area and they just look like any other family. They talk to us about Eid Al Adha, and Abdul talks about traditions. Too many traditions go unquestioned here.

I would like to question so many of those traditions and I joke about it, but tradition and religion are at its highest today…

Hair

Let’s start the Hair revolution

While these days we rehearse Aquarius, I see the pictures I took in Morocco and I feel like I wanted all these girls to show their hair. Their hair is long for sure, just like in the play. Their hair is probably black, curly and shiny. After many months with a bald head myself, wearing scarfs or just feeling that something was missing, it is quite difficult for me to understand why anyone must hide their hair in public. I liked scarfs and I think that veils can be beautiful when colorful, but in this trip I mostly saw neutral or dark veils and I did not really like them.

Of course, I don’t have any right to judge, but I think it would be great to start the Hair revolution, by unveiling every single woman’s head. Wouldn’t it be nice if one day, at sunset, at Jemaa el-Fnaa square, all girls took off their veils at the same time while dancing to the song Aquarius?

Ready for a photo shoot at the Todra gorge? Tourists dressed in red, matching the clayey reddish rocks

Todra Gorge

Carrying water, carrying babies

Water

Washing the tea cups by the Todra

The Todra river is like an oases. After visiting Merzouga and Erg Chebi desert, arriving at the Todra gorges is refreshing. In the desert, there weren’t any women, only us foreigners. Here, where the water flows, there are many women.

Dressed up for the evening. Like a newly wed.

Dressed up

Valley of Roses

Kasbah Itran

Mohammed’s niece is sitting at the reception. We are not sure how many hours she spends there watching the activities that take place in the Kasbah during the summer. Her brother plays video games in a cell phone, but she seems to just observe what is going on. I don’t know if she gets to go playing to the surroundings of the Kasbah, to the M’Goung river valley or if she just watches the day pass by from the reception.

Again the Kasbah has its roles well differentiated and we don’t get to meet Mohammed’s wife who is in the kitchen, preparing kefta tajines.

Chores

Chores in the morning at home, chores somewhere else, cleaning, washing,… I would like to go dancing, just as Rigoberta and Amaia told me to, but it seems like I will not be able to.

That’s me

So I take a selfie I will need to remember that evening at Jemaa el -Fnaa

City rules

In Rabat, could we go by “My body, my rules”?

Rabat flows in the summer. After the heat of the desert and the roughness of the Atlas, this city feels like Jannah, the Paradise. The Medina streets are filled with activity and it seems like women may have a choice?

Women with their hijabs and carrying babies on their back cross their paths with those who choose to unveil their heads and wear tight pants. What sets the rules? Tradition, education, social level?

I think the key is always education which leads to questioning which leads to empowerment and self decisions.

I think the reasons behind deciding to wear a hijab are quite different in Rabat or in Madrid.

Piercing

I have my ear pierced, but I hide them My hair is beautiful, but I don’t show it But my eyes and my smile say it all

One of the few public activities women carry out in the city is to do henna designs to foreigners, but also to locals who enjoy to change the patterns regularly. Only what is drawn in the hands of locals will be visible as the rest will be more likely covered

In Rabat, in 2022, girl artists display their art on the skin. With a master on geometry and flowers, Maryam can draw on your arms and legs at the same speed of the TGV that connects Tanger to Rabat. I am a student, she tells me, but communication in our broken French is not easy and she is too focused on finishing early rather than talking to a Spaniard who is curious about what she does for a living

Cotton candy

It is so amazing to see these girls running around barefoot and in their bathing suit. Their hair, their feet, their smile, just as sweet as the cotton candy.

I run and I enjoy it.

I feel free running along my older sister. We want to be able to always run and play.

Stabilizer

I don’t think I need that stabilizer in my bike, but someone thinks I will do better that way. Tomorrow I will remove it and I will be able to stabilize myself. Just trust me and encourage me.

Public space

Typically it is boys who take on public space playing football. These girls were just as brave as the Spanish female soccer team and they took on the square in front of the Kasbah. They were also inclusive and allowed a boy to join. Will they keep on playing in a couple of years as teenagers? They do have their role models, so let’s hope they don’t give up.

Kasbah attitude

Diversity

Everything can happen in front of the Kasbah. Walking around, playing soccer, henna tattooing or taking a nap in my mom’s arms.

Family generations watching how the sun sets

Sunset

Another day comes to an end. For us, it is the very special last day when our trips ends. For them, it is probably also a day trip that comes to an end. The entire family female section wears with modesty.

Ephemeral

Life is ephemeral just like a henna tattoo. So, let’s show the tattoo to the world.

Let’s not hide it below long gowns in summer time, but let’s not judge those who decide it to hide it either…

Morocco 2022

Pics were taken in:

Ksar Meksi Kasbah Itran Todra Gorges Marrakech