Today in class, we learned more about Moroccan religion, politics, and the role of women in society.

From what our guest teachers explained about Moroccan religion, I found it interesting that anyone can lead prayer in a group; it does not have to be a higher member of the church or mosque. This is something I have noticed in my host family’s home as well. The mother will lead songs and prayers for my younger sister to follow along with.

The lecture on Moroccan politics was the most interesting to me because it was the topic I knew the least about coming into this experience. Looking at the numbers from the charts in class, we could analyze and see that Moroccan people have less trust in elected officials and politicians, but more trust in institutions like the army. For me, this helped me better understand why Morocco still has a king and a monarchy system. It was also interesting because one of the first things I noticed when landing in Morocco was a large photo of the king at immigration.

We also learned about the role of women in Morocco today. Our guest professor talked about the progress women have made, and one thing that stood out to me was the case of a woman who was verbally assaulted for wearing a skirt in public. When she went to the police, she was instead taken to jail. Seeing where women started, where they are now, and where they still need to go in terms of equality and how they are viewed in society is very interesting to me, especially because I spend most of my time with my host mom and sisters.

I think this topic impacted me the most because, like our guest teacher explained, women fought to no longer be considered minors in society. I can see my younger sister having greater confidence and power in herself when she gets up and chooses a more modern outfit for school and it really shows the impact that these labels can have on the women