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Mr.Youssef Gherradi is a freelance journalist. Youssef’s speech/article “Without She, I will never be a He” featured in the second edition of the World Human Rights Forum which was held in Marrakech between 27-30 November 2014. [/symple_box]
One of the biggest issues that Morocco and various Arab societies are suffering from nowadays is men’s hardlined mentality when it comes to the status of women. Article number three of the deceleration of Human Rights outlines that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security. However, not all human beings are enjoying what is supposed to be natural rights, especially women. According to the recent UN global review, 35 percent of women have experienced either physical or sexual violence. Indeed, sexual harassment exists all over the world but it takes a hideous toll in some Arab countries.
By way of example, as reported by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, 99.3% of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment. Karima, a young Egyptian woman, says she was afraid to go out alone on the street when she was recently in a trip to Egypt, she feels unsafe.
Concerning Morocco, and according to The Global Gender Gap Report 2014, Moroccan women rank 133 out of 142 countries when it comes to equality. This means that the majority of women in Morocco are feeling marginalized in a predominantly patriarchal society where the man keeps the guts of the superhero.
If we go back to the colonial era, we would notice that women back-then were the first ones to negotiate within their constraints in order to further their power. Turkish author and researcher Deniz Kandiyoti used the term “patriarchal bargain” in his famous article “bargaining with patriarchy” to describe the fact that many women in North Africa had more autonomy than those living in sub-Saharan countries because they tend to resist the patriarchy.
Women’s rights are not only women’s issue, but it is our shared responsibility as well as men begotten by women to eradicate this phenomenon instilled in our society. Let’s all think twice before acting because inequality, no matter how shallow it could get, really hurts.
[symple_box color=”blue” text_align=”left” width=”100%” float=”none”] Mr.Youssef Gherradi is a freelance journalist. Youssef’s speech/article “Without She, I will never be a He” featured in the second edition of the World Human Rights Forum which was held in Marrakech between 27-30 November 2014. [/symple_box]
