Join the Movement

The Gender and Development committee encourages all PCVs to open up the conversation on sexual harassment! Harassment is different in every city and village, but it is often more than just an annoyance. This yearlong theme is intended to give voice to Moroccans who feel affected by harassment; girls who are harassed, boys who want to help stop the harassment, and everyone in between. We believe that awareness and open dialogue can be the beginning of the end of sexual harassment. Join Us!

To assist you, we developed three small projects that can be done consecutively or individually. The toolkit is now available and includes these small projects on harassment:

1) Talk About It, a focus-group discussion on sexual harassment
2) STOP!* a collective-art movement advocating the end of sexual harassment
3) Hear Us Now, an interview activity publicizing the effect of sexual harassment on individuals

To ensure you and your counterpart are on the same page about this complicated topic we have also provided an introduction to sexual harassment and the yearlong theme along with useful Darija translations:

1) Overall theme description and sexual harassment definition
2) Discussion questions for Talk About It

Don’t limit yourself to our suggestions.  We would love to hear about your ideas for projects as well! Please, don’t be shy, Peace Corps Staff is excited about this yearlong theme and welcomes all grant applications for other project ideas based on this theme as well. We wish you success and please drop us a line about how the conversation on harassment is going in your site!

*STOP!  the collective-art project, has a corresponding grant-template so that you can more easily apply for a small grant to purchase necessary art materials.

The Winning Theme!

After 2 months, 7 themes, and 130 votes from across the country, we are pleased to present the new GAD theme for 2012.........

Psssst.... I Protest!! Stop Sexual Harassment

Congratulations to the Ouarzazate eNews team for developing a brilliant theme along with some great project ideas! Click here to check out the awesome PowerPoint that they put together.

PCVs will be receiving additional information on the theme at the upcoming regional meetings in June, including a project idea that ties into the theme, along with a prewritten grant application. So more to come soon!

Thank you to all of the people who submitted great themes, to those who promoted the competition to others, and to all who voted on the theme ideas. We have been really excited about the participation in the contest and we are looking forward to seeing the theme in action over the coming months!

Climate Change Doesn’t Discriminate - Climate Change and Women in the Global South

Once debated as either a natural or human induced occurrence, climate change has prevailed in the last decade as one of the most pressing environmental concerns across the globe. Characterized by extreme weather patterns, this time frame has seen a drastic increase in natural disasters and phenomenon world-wide. 

In the global north, billions have been spent in support of technologies, better practices, and mitigation techniques to curb the ongoing devastation caused by climate change. Alterations in weather patterns have led to drought, flooding, desertification, soil erosion, etc. Communities that rely on subsistence farming are particularly vulnerable, as predicting weather for planting and harvesting crops has become increasingly difficult. In the global south, these groups are the most affected, as they are often comprised of the rural poor. As national mitigation strategies continue to lag behind outcomes of climate change, adaptation trumps as the ruling practice. Being the most immediate form of relief, adaptation in these areas tend to be small-scale, and implemented by members of the community in an attempt to hold onto their livelihoods, and lives.

Of the rural poor, the UN recognizes women as “disproportionately vulnerable to and affected by climate change.” Rural women are dependent on their surrounding natural resources, and are therefore greater pressured when the limited resource is threatened. Most often, the woman is in charge of all domestic duties, including: gathering water, heating/cooling the home, and obtaining fuel for cooking. Due to their unequal access in earning money, their roles in the domestic arena, and limited mobility, in the event of a natural disaster (mudslide, flood, etc.), there are higher numbers of female casualties than male, and surviving females take on the burden of continuing in their duties despite the lack of available resources.   

In an article written by Lynn Morris, specifically in the case of Morocco, it has been documented that difficulties in women’s lives are made worse by climate change. Morris interviews Naima Faouzi, a researcher who works with women’s groups. According to Faouzi, women must now travel farther to get fresh water due to the salinization of nearby aquifers, and in mountainous areas, women have to find firewood that has become rare due to lowered agricultural productivity, for cooking and the winter months. According to a report found on Dailymotion.com (Climate Change: Morocco Desert), the women of Tamlat, in the Agadir Region, are facing the loss-of-livelihood practices.  Once focused on the production of argon oil for cosmetics and cooking, these women are watching the argon trees disappear due to soil erosion and desertification, and are desperately seeking new modes of income generation.

For the above reasons, it is absolutely necessary to include females in the planning process of any climate change conversation, especially in a rural village. Women can provide unexplored perspectives and insights into their experiences, which can lead to improved adaptation measures and future mitigation tactics.

References:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/how-are-people-in-the-global-south-responding-to-climate-change

http://www.unep.org/climatechange/

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw52/issuespapers/Gender%20and%20climate%20change%20paper%20final.pdf

http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/Blogs/atlantic_rising/321827/atlantic_rising_adapting_to_climate_change_in_morocco.html

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb453d_climate-change-morocco-desert_tech

Written by GAD Committee member Tatianna Rodrigues.

Preschool Project

Jenifer McEnery and her husband, Mark McEnery, are currently serving in Morocco as environment volunteers in the rural village of Touama, located in the Marrakesh Province. For the last year, Jenifer has been working closely with Association Tifaout, training members in: organizational skills, assessing community needs, project planning, and identifying and attaining resources. The following project was realized through the implementation of these skills by Association Tifaout, and their work with the community of Touama.




The Mothers’ Preschool Project
written by Jenifer McEnery

Literacy in Morocco is a real concern especially among women.  According to a 2004 Census, countrywide literacy rates in Morocco are estimated at 39.6% among women and 65.7% among men; however, the female literacy rate in rural areas like Touama is estimated only at 10%. In many cases, mothers in Touama are left feeling helpless because they do not have the education to support their children's education and often even lack the knowledge to keep their children and their families healthy. Only one of the mothers involved in the Mothers' Preschool project has completed high school; the others never completed primary school.


In general, life is difficult for children from poor families, especially those families that depend on subsistence farming for food. Resources are funneled toward basic needs. Toys for children are not a priority and education can seem like a luxury. Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school, though the reality is that many children— particularly girls in rural areas—do not attend school. Many of these children lack the necessary preparation and support at home to succeed in school. Consequently, many leave school early to begin work and help support their families.

The idea to create Mothers' Preschool came from the association, teachers, and community members in response to a growing need for preschool education among families that do not have the resources or education to prepare their young children for success in public schools. The goal is to create a model preschool that will address local family needs and assist other neighboring communities in developing their own preschools.

The votes are IN!

After 2 months, 7 themes, and 130 votes from across the country, we are pleased to present the new GAD theme for 2012.........

Psssst.... I Protest!! Stop Sexual Harassment

Congratulations to the Ouarzazate eNews team for developing a brilliant theme along with some great project ideas! Click here to check out the awesome powerpoint that they put together.

PCVs will be receiving additional information on the theme at the upcoming regional meetings in June, including a project idea that ties into the theme, along with a prewritten grant application. So more to come soon!

Thank you to all of the people who submitted great themes, to those who promoted the competition to others, and to all who voted on the theme ideas. We have been really excited about the participation in the contest and we are looking forward to seeing the theme in action over the coming months!

eGAD Spring Roundup!

To the wonderful PCVs of Morocco and other Peace Corps supporters, it's been a great few months! GAD has received lots of positive feedback about our website and we truly hope that it becomes a resource for you moving forward - And as always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please send them our way.

GAD's been busy the last few months, and so have the PCVs across Morocco: International Women's Day (in March) and PCV-staffed Moroccan Spring Camps across the country (in April). To celebrate some of our PCV's many successes, we bring you the first edition of the eGAD PCV Roundup!

Here are some of the many GAD-related activities that PCVs across Morocco have led or participated in:

Annemarie Athey: Hosted a tea party for women in her co-op, along with her host grandmother and landlady. The ladies watched the “You Can Dream” video, enjoyed tea and baked goods, and had a small discussion. Wonderful work, Annemarie! You can check out some great photos and more details on her blog.

Maggie Bridges: Showed the "You Can Dream" video to her Advanced English class during Spring Camp, and followed up with a discussion of women's roles in Morocco and life planning and goals. Maggie asked her students to write out their goals, then write out plans of how to achieve them (all in English). Go Maggie!

Jenn Edgar: Talked about the “Famous First” women in the IWD toolkit. Jenn asked students to give speeches (in English) answering the questions "What do you think is the biggest issue facing Moroccan women today?” and “How should Moroccans deal with this issue?". Great use of content-based teaching!

Sairah Jahangir: Led a workshop on the Mudawana Family Code and Women's Rights at an association in Ouarzazate called Oxigene that provides support and training for women who are victims of domestic violence and/or rape. Sairah's workshop went really well (great job, Sairah!) and the women told her how much they thoroughly enjoyed the discussion they started. We look forward to hearing about more in the future!

Maureen Sieh: Held another great journalism workshop in Ouarzazate, with 25 students participating and 22 receiving certificates. Maureen encouraged students to invite their parents and show them the great work that they were doing. Nice work, Maureen! Check out photos on the  Ouarzazate e-News Facebook page.

Ruth Townsend: Helped to translate into Arabic a Mudawana Activity toolkit, including a value line walk and a tea talk with discussion questions on the Family Code. Awesome job, Ruth, and thanks for developing a toolkit so we can share your great work with other PCVs. Look for this on the GAD website soon!

Galen Welsch: Showed a portion of the "You Can Dream" video to his class, then had a discussion about gender roles and equal opportunity for women. Some arguments that arose were: whether or not it is okay for mothers to work part-time, why education is important for a woman even if she does not become a professional, and whether being both a mother and a professional is possible. Really interesting stuff, Galen.

And lastly, congratulations and great work to all the PCVs who have been helping with Marché Maroc over the past few months! The last one will be this coming weekend in Rabat; check out their Facebook page for more details. We'll be talking more about the great work PCVs have done with MM in the next post!