I am a young Moroccan woman who lives in North America. I recently traveled to Morocco and wore conservative clothes (traditional long and large jellaba). I was not covering my hair most of the time. I am pretty but nothing extraordinary and I do look Arab.
This was the first time I was traveling alone in Morocco and I left this country feeling sick and exhausted because of the constant harassment. I started to avoid leaving my hotel room and got some symptoms of panic attacks at the idea of going back in some souks or streets where I had reacted to being harassed.
Men would follow me, every minutes men would say to me, “Ca va? or whisper to me things that I could not always understand. I was particularly distressed by cars or vans following me then stopping and men inside inviting me to join them in their cars.
One time, I was so distressed by these cars following me that i shouted in English to one driver, “I will call the police if you don’t stop that.” He got scared and went away but I was left feeling miserable, afraid and stressed.
I felt rage when I saw men in uniforms (gardeners in parks, men working at gas stations, workers) talking to me as well even though I did not ask them anything. They would say in Arabic things like, “So what do you want?”
Many times I wanted to cry when I would go in souks and see virtually all the men staring at me with their eyes wide open and no shame at all.
One time, a man jumped from a taxi to talk to me. He had been following me in the taxi.
Going out was too uncomfortable and draining so I stopped going alone outside.
When I was back in North America, I felt a wonderful sense of relief and understood how affected I had been by all this harassment. One month after the trip, I was still thinking about it. I do believe that it was a traumatic experience.
I went back to Morocco to reconnect with my roots and was so proud of my heritage but I have to say that I left with rage, fear and stress inside me. The saddest part is that I am no longer particularly proud to be Moroccan as I felt that streets were a savage environments for women.
It made me think as well about the fact that this harassment is coming form a population who is deeply religious, Muslim. It did really affect me on many level and I want to define myself as a North American from now on. I don’t anymore recognize my values of respect, honesty, kindness in Morocco. Sad trip.
– Anonymous
Location: Morocco, big and small towns
