Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
October 7 , 2006

Morocco: First Woman Appointed Governor.
Rabat, 4 Oct. (AKI)

For the first time ever since Morocco's independence in 1956, a woman has been nominated governor of a district, media reports said Wednesday. According to Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat, Moroccan King Mohammad VI named Fawziya Amansar governor of the district of Ain al-Shaq in the area around Casablanca. The appointment was was the latest in a long string of promotions by the king, who is replacing many top local and central government officials. Amansar is a formal state servant in charge of construction and urban planning in the provincial administration of Casablanca.

Ever since he was elected king, Mohammad VI has pushed for more rights for women. In 2004, Morocco approved one of the most progressive laws on women's and family rights in the Arab world. Under the reform to the 'mudawana' family code, polygamy became acceptable only in rare circumstances, and only with the permission of a judge and a man's first wife. The new law also raised the age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 and gave wives joint responsibility of the family with their husbands.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.346883411&par=0
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In the poor south of Morocco, women's rights is a class act.
By Marc Burleigh. MIRLEFT, Morocco (AFP)

The hardscrabble, dirt-poor countryside of southern Morocco is not the place you would expect a social upheaval to be taking place. After all, in these bare hills dotted with rose-coloured villages made of pressed mud and rocks, survival is the only concern, and things like running water, meat dishes and clean clothes are all considered luxuries.

But for one teacher, putting an end to the centuries-old subjugation of women and girls and instilling his pupils with a sense of gender equality and dignity is as basic as eating, or reading and arithmetic. Mouloud Belfakir, 32, comes from the same Berber stock as his charges, a formerly nomadic people who live in the mountain regions of North Africa.

But, married to a Frenchwoman and seeing the influx of Europeans buying seaside villas in the region, he understands the world that is opening up to his students and wants them to be able to take part -- all of them. "The catastrophe here is that, when you're born female, it's very difficult," he says.

New laws introduced two years ago by Morocco's King Mohammed VI have gone a way to challenge the powerlessness women have long suffered in the country's male-centric Arab culture. Girls as young as 15 can no longer be whisked off for marriage. The minimum age for them is now 18, as for men. And wives now have the right to divorce their husbands, and to get property rights.

Getting those new rights known, though, is a real struggle, often subtly resisted in poor communities where tradition trumps legislation. As a result, Belfakir came up with a school play he wrote himself this year to transmit the changes to his 23 pupils -- and, he hopes, to others Moroccan schools he plans to have it performed in. Girls wearing customary veils and boys with stuck-on beards act out scenes in which abusive husbands used to raising their voice or their fist to their spouses are put in their places. "No, you have no right to hit me," says one young girl, who strikes back at her 'husband', sending him limping off the makeshift stage.

In another scene, a group of girls recite the new rights given to women. The acting is rudimentary and the dialogue stiff, but the message comes across clearly. So clearly, in fact, that foreigners in Mirleft make the trip along a rutted dirt road to watch the play, and, at its end, dance with the actors to traditional Berber music and singing. Still, there are grumbles among the local menfolk -- and a few older women -- as they give voice to fears that the changes being taught will sweep away the few certainties they hold dear.

Belfakir admits as much, saying "it's difficult -- but things are changing." Parents and grandparents are right to worry that they might not have help in their old age from the younger generation turning to more Western ways, he says. He adds that he supports his elderly parents, who live in a remote mountain area, on his monthly salary of 3,700 dirhams (370 euros, 290 dollars), but he is not always available to physically lend a hand.

"A new model is being established, and sacrifices will have to be made," he says. The crux of it all is to empower girls from a young age. "Here, it's the women that do all the work," he says. Their second-class status also means they often get little schooling. Belfakir points out one shy little nine-year-old girl, Malika Tiriourt, whom he says has become one of his brighter students, despite her desperate origins. Abandoned by her father, she was "rented" out to a family for 200 dirhams a month as a goatherd. Her main sustenance came from eating the goat's droppings. Now, he hopes to keep her in his small class. To counter the often high rate of dropouts, he is also working to provide school lunches partly financed through the sale of craftwork made in the village. "I'm not expecting a revolution," the teacher says. "All I want is to give them a proper education."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060816/lf_afp/afplifestylemorocco_060816135702
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European Commission offers Morocco 50m dirhams for cultural centres project.
By Imane Belahj. 02/10/2006

As part of the MEDA programme, the European Commission in Rabat is offering Morocco 50m dirhams to create a network of cultural centres. The project aims at providing areas for cultural activities in areas lacking such social institutions, particularly in remote areas. The European Commission and the Moroccan ministry of culture in Rabat, as part of the European-Mediterranean Partnership (MEDA) programme, is offering Morocco 50m dirhams for the building of cultural centres. Lahcen Oualayad, director of the project unit of the network of cultural centres, said the aim of the initiative is the development of cultural infrastructure and to limit deficiencies and disparities among cultural centres in the country.

Morocco will invest 27m dirhams. Oualayad told Moroccan Sahara that local communities are invited to participate in this project, "making it trilateral participation comprising the EU, the Ministry of Culture and the communities concerned". Oualayad said six of these centres are now ready and will be receiving visitors before the end of the year. They are situated in Qualaat Magouna, Zakoura, Tiznit, Sidi Rahal in Qualaat S'raghna, Kasbat Tadla, and Al-Zmamra, all places which did not previously have cultural buildings.

The creation of five other cultural centres will be started in the second phase. The Ministry of Culture will be responsible for building them, while the EU has conducted specific studies within the framework of the agreement provided for by the MEDA programme. The new centres will be in Al-Hoceima, Azilal and Figuig.

The third phase will see centres in El-Hajab, Taourirt, Ait Aourir, and Azmour. According to the government, the original financial backing budgeted for the network of cultural centres was not enough to build the 27 cultural centres originally planned. Because of limited funding, only six centres will be built. Local governorates will provide the necessary land, participating in getting things done and accommodating the project. Although the centres are intended for young men and women, they will have a significant impact on the entire local communities.

The completed cultural centres are furnished with modern equipment for lighting and acoustics. They include a hall equipped with state-of-the-art technical equipment for theatrical and musical performances, conferences and lectures. The centres will also include suites for participants in theatrical performances, public reading rooms for adults and children, an exhibition hall, art workshops, and a computer lab.

The cultural centres are part of a convention programme on the "development of citizenship for young people" launched on Saturday (September 30th) in Rabat by Morocco's Secretariat of State in charge of Youth, the Social Development Agency and the Forum for Citizenship. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/10/02/feature-01
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Morocco's economic growth reaches 7.9% in second quarter.
02/10/2006

The growth rate of the Moroccan economy in the second quarter accelerated to 7.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) against 2.2% during the same period of last year, MAP quotes a report of the High Planning Council (HCP). The report ascribed this performance chiefly to 32.2% growth in the agricultural sector due to the bumper harvest in the 2005-2006 season. The growth rate of the non-agricultural GDP slowed down to 4.4%, compared to 5.6% last year, which shows the slow recovery of the textiles sector from the abolition of quotas on Asian textiles in the EU.

In terms of activity sectors, the HCP said that except for the mining, energy and public administration sectors, which registered growth rate lower than 2%, all other sectors reached a growth rate of over 3%. Morocco's GDP is expected to grow by 7.3% this year, which is to be supported by 7.4% growth of the construction sector and the development of tourism
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2006/10/02/newsbrief-04
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Enterprising Casablanca women provide for their families by selling Ramadan food.   
By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 06/10/06

Some Casablanca women make good money selling traditional homemade Ramadan food, such as rghaif (pancakes). They provide a service for women who are too busy to cook after a long day at the office. At two o'clock in the afternoon on the first day of Ramadan, 16-year-old Amina sat on a wide sidewalk in Casablanca with a basket filled with rghaif (pancakes) in front of her. Other women crowded beside her, each bearing copious amounts of treats, which working women generally do not have time to make.

Maarif, a commercial district in central Casablanca, turns into an open-air market during the holy month of Ramadan, with many housewives ending almost a full year of anticipation to become seasonal merchants. The vendors excel in making rghaif, baghrir and batbout. Rghaif are an especially popular purchase from these vendors as most of shops and bakeries cannot completely cover the high demand.

During the workday, before the market was not yet crowded, Amina told Magharebia, "Actually, I help my mother, who's no longer able to work on the street. But, from the morning on, she prepares all this at home for me to carry to the market. The important thing for me is to not return home with anything [laughing]. And of course, this always happens, because customers love whatever my mother makes."

Amina stopped her studies after primary school to help take care of her family. "Our social situation does not allow for schooling. My father isn't with us and my three sisters are still young, so my mother and I try to spare them from this seasonal work. It is enough for several months, but we don't rely on it. My mother sells these loaves and other sweets outside of Ramadan."

Local markets in Casablanca and even a number of other cities teem with such cases. Bab Marrakech market in the old city, Hafarin market and Garage Allal in Derb Sultan are full of simple families who provide for themselves. Each day at ten o'clock in the morning, housewife Fatina Muduni begins preparing her goods, which she must carry to the market before one o'clock in the afternoon. She realises that her trade flourishes this time of year, when there is high demand for prepared food.

Mudini says she admires women who have to prepare the ftour table after a hard day at work. Women's move from the home to the office has helped the spread of this type of business. The rghaif from these street vendors cost much less than those found at bakeries.

With the rising costs of basic ingredients such as oil, sugar and butter, shops raised the price of their rghaif. Vendors have held onto their clientele by keeping the same prices as last year.

"I see our role as alleviating the burden on these workingwomen and preparing what will adorn their tables for them. I am proud of the numerous women who make advance requests for what they need when inviting guests," Muduni says. "What is the gain? A lot. Thank God. But it varies from one day to the next," said Muduni, who estimates her earnings range between 100 dirhams and 150 dirhams on good days.

Other women do not have the same financial success as Muduni. For Khadija Amari, the profit is more modest. She would like to be at the market early every day, but she has to take care of her ill husband daily. She is thus unable to leave early enough for the market enough to bring in regular earnings.

Young people also seize the opportunity. Some set up tables at the doors of coffee shops that are closed during the day to offer shabakia, a Moroccan sweet popular during Ramadan, sheets of bastilla and other food, such as dates and eggs. The street vendors have to contend with local authorities, as Moroccan law prohibits roving sales. They are thus subjected to the harassment by mkhaznia, policemen belonging to local squads, who occasionally drive them away.

"They [the street vendors] create a sort of chaos and impede movement of pedestrians and traffic. Likewise, they are the subject of numerous complaints from shopkeepers, which are usually obscured from passers-by," said an officer of the urban squad as he was accompanying a security patrol pursuing vendors.

But during Ramadan, the squads tend show sympathy for the social conditions that the majority of families engaged in the seasonal profession are living under. Vendor Idris recalls, "Before Ramadan, we were engaged in a daily war with the authorities, who pursued us as we pushed small carts from one alley to the next." Nothing hinders vendors' resolve in preparing rghaif and taking them out into the street. Even if their merchandise is confiscated, they still return the following day.

When carts are impounded, the goods are spoiled and the street merchants are detained for hours at the police station.
"It's a way for us to rely on ourselves and our skills in making treats rather than begging or providing domestic service. We are aware that women like us are the ones who need our services, though our customers also include men," Amina says.

She says that her cleanliness is a big draw for customers, noting the big machines used by bakeries or larger commercial shops are often suspect in terms of their cleanliness and the quality of materials and ingredients used to make these rghaif. One female customer asserted that bakery production doesn't even compare to the traditional homemade way of preparing rghaif, shabakia and other treats. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2006/10/06/reportage-01
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Literacy program eyes a million in 2007.
Beijing, Sept. 27

Morocco aspires to benefit one million individuals of the literacy program in 2007, revealed the State Secretary for Literacy and non-Formal Education, Anis Birou. In an interview with MAP, the official hailed as "positive" the results attained in 2006, as it registered a record in terms of the number of beneficiaries which reached 650.000.

He said the rate of illiterate people in Morocco has, for the first time, decreased to 39%. In the 2004 census this rate was set at 43%. Birou recalled that in 2005 and 2006 the beneficiaries of literacy programs had augmented 40%, noting that 56% of these live in rural areas and that 80.1% are women.

The government has risen by 25% the budget earmarked for literacy programs in 2006, he said. Last week, Birou received in Jining, province of Shandong, eastern China, the Confucius Prize for Literacy, which the UNESCO awarded to Morocco this year. In addition to Morocco, the prize was also awarded to the Rajastan province, India. Both recipients were awarded for their efforts and achievements in terms of literacy and non-formal education, especially in rural areas.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/literacy_program_eye/view
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American association to contribute to social development in Laâyoune.

The American association "Bridge to Morocco" is determined to take part and support social and health initiatives in the Moroccan southern city of Laâyoune, said the association's president, Chris Sanston, on Monday. "The willingness of the association to take part in the efforts to develop the social and health initiatives in Laâyoune is part of the respect that Morocco enjoys in the US and the attachment that the association's members in general have for the Kingdom," Sanstos said during a visit he paid on Monday to Laâyoune.

Sanstos, accompanied by Bachir Dkhil, president of the association Badaiil (alternatives), visited several social centres and literacy classes in Laâyoune. He discussed with the regional health delegate, Mustapha Boaâdi, and local actors of civil society the quality of the various services offered to the inhabitants.

The president of "Bridge to Morocco" expressed satisfaction with the dynamics generated by the social action projects for the inhabitants of Laâyoune. He stressed the importance to reinforce and develop bilateral exchange and cooperation between American and Moroccan partners working in the social and health fields. He underlined that his association will develop social actions, in collaboration with other local institutions and associations, in order to help the population. The "Bridge to Morocco" also intends to support local initiatives and encourage associations to develop awareness campaigns on public issues for the local population, especially young people.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=17317
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