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Blog 2: Ability or Social Status

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While traveling across Morocco, I have seen many different kinds of people and have observed that there are different expectations for women in regards to the law. In the US, coming from personal experience, I have observed that women can do anything and have the same level of representation as men in the law [up until recently but that can be said not to be related]. According to an article from the Freidrich Naumann Foundation (2024), Morocco is one of the most progressive countries for women where they can enjoy access to political and economic life, and single women [with no guardian] can travel freely. That ends at criminal and civil law. There is one of particular intrest called the inheritance law. According to Islam, women are only entitled to 1/3 of the property left to them.  In contrast, the United States has laws that are generally based on gender equality in inheritance. Women and men have equal legal rights to any property left to them by parents or spouses. According...
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Blog 2: ability or social status

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  The identity I am choosing that is different from my own is that of a person with a physical disability. Our time in Fes made me curious about how a physically disabled person would be able to go about and travel in their daily lives in Morocco. After doing some research, I found that “in Morocco, 727,833 people live with a disability, representing 5.5% of the population,” ( United Nations Development Programme ). Although that is a large number, there are many obstacles, like social acceptance and access to services, that disabled people face everyday. As a result, UNDP Morocco has begun to make strives to combat this. They have constructed wide passages with ramps to make places more accessible to people in wheelchairs. They have also been creating parking spaces specifically for the disabled. Morocco also has an inclusive recruitment policy which prevents discriminatory recruitments practices in places of work and school. Along with all of these physical improvements, the UNDP...
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Blog #2: Ability or Social Status

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     One identity category that stood out to me during my time in Morocco is how social class and access to education shape opportunity, specifically through differences between private and public school. This idea came to my mind during our visit to the École Nationale d’Agriculture, where we learned about the highly competitive admissions process and spoke with students about their educational backgrounds.      During the tour, we were told that the school receives over 10,000 applicants but accepts fewer than 200 students each year. The admissions process is based on high school academic performance, followed by an additional standardized exam for selected candidates. This was especially interesting because it differs from systems like the United States, where admissions may include essays, recommendation letters, and standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT. In contrast, the Moroccan system felt more specialized and focused on academic performance, whi...
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Blog 2: Ability or Social Status

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  While in country, I have been intrigued by the range of languages spoken by the Moroccans we have interacted with. Whether it be tour guides, students, or local vendors, most of the people I have met know at least three distinct languages. This inspired me to dive deeper into language ability in Morocco and how that plays a role in social status and mobility.  Morocco has two official languages: Arabic and Amazigh. However, other languages commonly found in the country include French, English, and Spanish. A study conducted through surveying students in Casablanca found that most of the students speak Arabic at home but still incorporate varying degrees of other languages; however, 75% of the students never speak Amazigh. It also showed that besides Amazigh, most students found high importance in knowing the other languages - Arabic, English, and French (Bouziane, 2020). This research indicates there is a general positive outlook on understanding and speaking other lan...
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Blog 2: Ability or Social Status

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  While in Morocco, we have visited several cities that have history seeping through them. These cities consist of downtown areas like we experienced in Casablanca and Rabat, and we also experienced medinas in Tangier and Fez. When walking through the Medinas, you get to see a glimpse in people’s daily lives. Medinas are a pinpoint of historic significance that contain bustling traffic, narrow walkways, fountains, and mosques. To us, it’s a tourist attraction. To residents of Morocco, it is how they make income, feed their families, and sleep in their homes. Since I am able bodied, I had little to no issue navigating the pattern of the city or overcoming physical obstacles. However, I began to think while we were touring the Medina in Fez how it must be difficult for someone with a physical disability to be able to do the basic necessities of life while living in the Medina.  Medinas have been a vital part of Morocco since it was first established. The word “medina” transl...
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During my experience in Morocco, one of the identities that has stood out the most was religion, specifically Islam and the role it plays in Moroccan culture and everyday life. Islam is an monotheistic abrahamic religion that Muhammad founded after receiving revelations from an angel in a cave   (Rahman et al., 2018).  Coming from a loosely Christian background, I've noticed how deeply religion is woven into daily routines, leadership styles, agriculture, family life, and community relationships. Observing this has helped me better understand how identity can shape an entire society's values and priorities.  About 99% of Morocco's population identifies as Muslim (Morocco-United States Department of State, 2024), with Islam playing a major role in social and cultural life. Religion is not only practiced privately like it is in America, it's also reflected publicly through daily calls to prayer, Ramadan traditions, customs, and community expectations. The values emphasi...
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Blog 2: Ability or Social Status

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One experience during our visit to the École Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès (ENA) stood out to me beyond agriculture itself. During the presentation, I became fascinated by their highly competitive admissions process and began thinking about social status through the lens of educational opportunity. Educational institutions often function as gateways for social mobility, yet access is not always equally distributed. The World Bank (2018) identifies education as one of the strongest pathways for improving social mobility and expanding life opportunities worldwide. Research suggests that educational opportunities strongly influence future advancement, while barriers related to access and socioeconomic factors continue to shape outcomes (El Kallal, 2024). Similar discussions surrounding higher education in Morocco have identified ongoing challenges related to educational access and equity within the broader system (Ezzahra & Haoucha, 2025). What made this field trip especially me...
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