Last month, the Gender and Development committee held its 2nd annual Gender Advocate Training in Fes. In attendance for the 2-day, bilingual conference were 15 Peace Corps volunteers and 17 Moroccan counterparts. Peace Corps Morocco volunteer Shawn Dubberly resides in Zaouia Ben Hmida and focuses her work on her community of girls at the boarding school (dar taliba) there. You can find out more about her service on her blog Bonjour Hello Salam. Shawn attended the training and shares her experience:
What is gender?
by Shawn Dubberly
That was the first question on the pre-training survey as we gathered in Fes for Gender Advocacy Training (GAT). I had to admit it was a tough question. Everyone seemed to be confidently scribbling. I was afraid I would have to present my definition to a room full of obviously talented and experienced volunteers and their equally talented and accomplished Moroccan counterparts. Luckily, the first announcement that the facilitators, Brandy Blue, Noa Harris, Kika Kaui and Matt Hendrick made was to point out that the room was full of knowledge and the training would be an opportunity to learn from each other.
The training kicked off strong with a Safe Space Building activity. We created a guideline for behaviors that made us feel safe and also behaviors that made us feel uncomfortable.
Using the pre-survey question that gave me such a hard time, the facilitators opened up the training with a great gender awareness activity lead by Noa. Maybe you have done or seen a version of this, but I found doing the actual activity in a group very helpful. Seeing the activity play out showed me just how impactful and easy it could be in my site.
This was how it was structured:
Each person was given a card. On the first side we wrote 3 examples about our own gender with the phrase, “ I am happy to be a (man/woman) because...”
On the second side we imagined our lives as the opposite gender by finishing the phrase, “If I were a (man/woman) I would be…”
The next step was to go around the circle and read from the first side. It was
time consuming but as Noa said, each voice added to a musicality of the group as
we defined how we felt about gender. After the first round there was a second round of reading the next phrase. This too revealed certain attitudes and Beyonce’s song If I Were a Boy kept playing in my head.
Next, we were given a short session on Gender in the Media by Matt. I emphasize short because there were so many good comments that we could not get to. It was a great discussion on an article by the Moroccan writer Fatima Sadiqi entitled Gender at Heart of New Moroccan Constitution. We discussed Moroccan reforms, good governance, political will and the implementation of reforms. This session was bursting at the seams with comments from volunteers and Moroccans with opinions backed up by first hand accounts. Unfortunately, we did not have time for questions of obstacles between the city and the countryside and how media outside of Morocco affects the gender identities within it.
One of the Moroccan Peace Corps staff, Amina, told us that women are the first teachers for their children. The way women raise their children is very powerful. In
One of the Moroccan Peace Corps staff, Amina, told us that women are the first teachers for their children. The way women raise their children is very powerful. In
her opinion, pointing out that influence could lead to empowering mothers to consider gender equality when raising their children.
After lunch we broke off into two groups for smaller discussions. The Moroccan counterparts were presented a session on the iceberg theory of culture, while the American volunteers had a round table on best practices when doing gender work in
site. It reinforced the idea that the best knowledge comes from experience and I was
very thankful to hear similar concerns and obstacles from many volunteers. As well, we shared examples of positive ways to overcome difficulties.
As outsiders discussing gender issues with our Muslim communities, we talked about sensitive communication. One volunteer suggested giving examples from smaller, lesser-known religions such as Confucianism or Daoism to pull student out of their structured responses to religiously sensitive material that they know well.
Another volunteer's suggestion was to cite Muslim feminist or female Moroccan Scholars when presenting difficult material. As well as reminding students that language always affects interpretation.
The second day began with a Vote with you Feet activity on some facts and figures
about gender in Morocco. It was encouraging when I got a few of the answers correct
and it was a great way to start off a full day that included a session on empathy and a
detailed presentation from MRA Mobilizing for Rights Associates.
Brandy presented the activity on empathy. It was a real hit and easily adaptable for a
Moroccan audience. The basic concept is to make a group of people make a single
decision on weather to take a vacation to the ocean or to the mountains. Each person is giving a card with a motivation and the activity is to use empathetic skills to come to a consensus. It’s always fun to do a little role-playing and even with all the jokes and laughing, real practice can be achieved.
Mobilising for Rights Associates, MRA, joined us for the next session. The presentation on the 2004 Moroccan Family Code was insightful. MRA founder Stephanie Willman Bordat and her Moroccan associate Saida Kouzzi did an excellent job presenting information and resources on the family code, which is commonly called the Moudawana but is correctly termed the qanon l’usra. I was impressed by Stephanie's generosity from the start of the presentation when she asked to hear about our sites and any specific topic within the presentation that we wanted to know more about. The presentations covered the new reforms made to marriage and divorce. I found it interesting that the family laws are the only laws based on religious concepts. All other types of Moroccan laws are secular. Also, Article 400 invites judges to use their own interpretation, which allows for different applications of the law.
The final session was a mini Project Design and Management Workshop. This is where we were able to discuss a future project with our counterparts. The facilitators gave us a helpful continuum tool to assess if our projects were accommodating existing gender differences or transformative in supporting and strengthening gender equality.
The success of the training showed by how the conversations stayed strong through
coffee breaks and lunches when participants added their own stories to deepen the
framework on the training. All the participants were completely engaged with the topics from start to finish. I thought the activities were useful and I look forward to using them in site to help advocate for gender equality in all my projects.
Here are some of the language used during the Gender Advocate (GAT) training that
could be useful when discussing gender topics in your site.
English - Transliteration - Arabic script
safe space lwaSaT l’Amin الوسط الآمن
gender Nnaw3 ljtima3i النوع الاجتماعي
Sex ljins الجنس
feminine unta أنثى
masculine dakar ذكر
patriarchy ddukuriya الذكورية
gender lens 3adasat nnaw3 عدسة النوع
advocate Lmutarafi3/lmudafi3 المترافع/المدافع
family code laws qanon l’usra قانون مدونة الأسرة
divorce Tllq طلّق
(a irreconcilable divorce
without damage payment)
(when a woman pays her
husband to repudiate her)
Equality lmusawat المساواة
Gender role Ddawr ljtima3i liljinsayn الدور الاجتماعي للجنسين
Equal opportunities Takafu’A lfuraS تكافؤ الفرص
shiqaq ق الشقا
Khul3 خلع
Minor/underage qaSir القاصر
