Blog 1: Race, Ethnicity, Culture or Religion
Before visiting Morocco, I had a very limited understanding about what life looked like here, specifically regarding women in a Muslim-majority country. A lot of the conversation surrounding Islam and women in the U.S. is about oppression and lack of rights. I honestly was not sure what women’s roles in society would look like when we came here. Now I realize that many of the stereotypes heard are inaccurate after observing people firsthand.
With the more time we have spent here, the more I notice that women’s experiences and identities were far more diverse and complex than I had expected. I noticed that people expressed their faith in very different ways. Some women wore hijab, while others did not. Some dressed more traditionally, while others dressed more similarly to women in Western countries. This diversity definitely challenged the assumption that there is only one way for Muslim women to live or express their identity. There is more choice here. According to the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Morocco has one of the most progressive legal systems for women in the region. It says there are “numerous female CEOs, ministers and heads of authorities. A quarter of the parliament is female and a woman has just taken over the office of mayor of the capital Rabat from another woman.” Although challenges related to gender equality persist, women here play important roles in society.
What made this realization even more meaningful was seeing these ideas reflected not just socially, but also professionally. One experience that especially changed my perspective was visiting the berry farm. Before the trip, I would have assumed that most places would be heavily male-dominated. However, we saw women actively participating in important operational and professional roles throughout the organization, such as the many women involved with the berry farm. Seeing women visibly involved in leadership and daily operations challenged the assumptions I had unconsciously formed before coming to Morocco.
At the same time, these experiences also changed the way I thought about religion and personal expression, especially regarding hijab. In the United States, conversations about hijab are often highly politicized, and people sometimes assume that women who wear it are automatically oppressed or forced into it. While I understand that experiences are different for every individual and that not all women experience religion in the same way, this trip helped me realize that for many women, hijab can also represent faith, identity, modesty, family tradition, or personal choice. I have seen many hijabi women with women who chose not to wear hijabs, both visible throughout Morocco.
Overall, this experience reminded me how easy it is to form assumptions about another culture without directly experiencing it. Actually being in Morocco gave me a much better understanding of the relationship between religion, culture, and women’s identities. Instead of viewing Moroccan women through stereotypes that we hear often in the west, I now view the ways women express themselves, practice their faith, and participate in society much differently.
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