Dare I remind him of the schizophrenia and hypocrisy to criticize prostitution while Saudis are its primary consumers and even procurers?
I was distraught when I heard the statements made in a video by the Saudi Fahid Al Shamri who defines himself as a journalist and acts like he is an expert on Moroccan history.
I do not know if this man has already had the opportunity to visit Morocco or to meet Moroccans, but even the most uncultivated can get a little bit informed, especially in the digital age. He, therefore, has no excuses. His comments are not only unacceptable but condemnable in more than one way and deserve at the very least legal action. They are abject and repulsive comments just like their author.
Letting the comments of this fanatic pass and not paying attention to them would have been an option, but there is no question of letting him act freely when the hatred he is spreading feeds misogyny and Wahhabism, which undercut our humanity in the name of supposed superiority.
It is shameless that Al Shamri criticizes tourism in Morocco and the Moroccan diaspora. He claims in particular that 46% of Moroccan emigration is made up of women who have created Morocco’s wealth through prostitution. What has gotten into this man to attack Moroccan women?
Dare I remind him that he shamelessly contravenes journalistic ethics and that his sexist, defamatory, and abusive comments are offenses?
Dare I remind him that women’s bodies belong to them and they should not have to suffer from his frustrations or those of predators and sex tourists who are guilty of sexual abuse and crimes?
Dare I remind him of the schizophrenia and hypocrisy to criticize prostitution while Saudis are its primary consumers and even procurers?
Dare I remind him that Saudi Arabia owes its wealth only to its godsend oil, which is on the way to extinction (in 30 years at the most), and to the annual Hajj pilgrimage business of over 9 million pilgrims, which brings in more than $50 billion?
Dare I remind him that Morocco can take pride in tourism for its geographical location, its climate, its natural resources, its imperial cities, its history, its art, its cultures, its traditions, its sense of hospitality, its gastronomy, its local products, its rich and varied landscapes, its desert and its beaches, etc.?
Dare I remind him of Saudi Arabia’s role in spreading the Wahhabism virus and religious fanaticism on an international scale and in the financing of terrorism and wars, especially against Muslims, like in Yemen?
The Saudi model is not the only one available. Our humanity will be fine!
Moroccan women have their identity, an identity inherited from the history of a millennium-old state, from a civilization forged by, as the preamble of its Constitution recalls, “the convergence of its Arabo-Islamic, Amazigh, and Sahara-Hassani components, nourished and enriched by its African, Andalusian, Hebrew, and Mediterranean influences.”
Suffice it to say that opening up to the world is part of the Moroccan DNA. The Moroccan woman is a full-fledged citizen. She enjoys equality in economic and political rights. In contrast, Saudi women remain under guardianship and are legally eternal minors. It is obviously this model that this man wishes to impose.
Moroccan women have been and are involved in all social, scientific, economic, political, sporting, cultural, and religious battles. They are involved in all fields.
Think of the feminist battles of Aicha Chenna, Fatima Mernissi, and Asma Lamrabet; Asmae Boujibar at NASA; Nawal El Moutawakel, gold medalist at the first women’s 400 meter hurdles event in Olympic history; Bouchra Baibanou, mountaineer; Touria Chaoui, first woman pilot in the Arab world; Ilham Kadri, CEO of Belgian chemicals company Solvay!
And then there are all those mothers who struggle to give the best education to their children, despite the difficulties. It is thanks to them that no fewer than 3,000 doctors of Moroccan origin are working in Belgium. And the list goes on.
Women’s emancipation is also a concern of the Moroccan monarchy, which sets the tone by allocating national roles (governorships) to women and international diplomatic missions to female members of the royal family.
Several royal women were named ambassadors of His Majesty, such as Princess Lalla Aicha to Great Britain in 1965, then to Greece and Italy, or Lalla Joumala Alaoui, the current ambassador to the United States.
On the international level, the leadership of Moroccan women of dual citizenship no longer needs to be demonstrated in a series of fields.
They chair, at the highest level, the destinies of many international institutions, such as Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO. They also lead national institutions, such as Rachida Dati, former keeper of the seals and member of the European Parliament and current mayor of the seventh arrondissement in Paris, and Khadija Arib, president of the Dutch House of Representatives.
In addition, they are ministers, deputies, mayors, magistrates, etc., in several countries. In Belgium, for example, there are a former minister and a dozen deputies of Moroccan origin.
On the occasion of the International Labor Day, I would like to pay tribute to all these working women who contribute to increasing wealth around the world, including those who dedicate themselves to the education of their children, sometimes in difficult conditions, a necessary investment to prepare the skilled workers of tomorrow.
Like all diasporas, Moroccan men and women participate in the economic growth of their country of origin as well as their countries of residence. Studies of this from the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, and the International Organization for Migration abound. Diasporas are the necessary links between continents.
In this particular period of the struggle against COVID-19, when the world economy is almost at a standstill, women are more than ever on the front line, especially in the health sector. In a few weeks, confinement has shown more than ever how women are the first to be impacted. More than ever, we realize that work is the lever of everyone’s autonomy and freedom. Moroccan women have understood this.
I will end these few lines by addressing Fahid Al Shamri, or rather Fahid #Shame, to say “Moroccan women are above you” with two words in Darija: #Bezef_3lik!
You can follow Laila Ait Baala @LatifaAitBaala
The views expressed in this articlehttps://twitter.com/LatifaAitBaala are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial views.
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