I went there as a Peace Corps volunteer, and my job was to help the local organization teach about AIDS to the local men. According to recent evaluations by AMSED:
An estimated 25,500 people were living with HIV in Morocco in 2009, or 0.11% of adults. Among vulnerable groups in some regions the rate exceeds 5%. 46.2% of all new cases in the past five years were in two regions alone - Sous Massa Draa and Marrakech Tensift Al Haouz. HIV is mainly transmitted through sex (92.3%), of which 87% is heterosexual transmission and 5.3% sex between men. Morocco’s HIV epidemic appears to be growing, especially among young people and women. Women now account for 47.9% of infections.
Morocco is a very peculiarly positioned country; it is not quite a Middle Eastern country, due to it's Amazigh population and comparatively liberal policies, nor is it quite Europe, due to its Islamic influence, nor even African, due to the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. It is its own combination of all three. We are fortunate that the country is willing to admit that there is an emerging problem with AIDS and STI issues, but we are also at a disadvantage with our freedom to speak openly about the main transmission of these infections, namely, intercourse. I remember sitting in the tent, listening to our peer educator speak to the men. He usually spoke in Arabic, but occasionally, he would break into the Tamazight language. This gave me an opportunity to catch some of the things he was saying. Every once in a while, he would turn to me and ask me a question about how easy it is to transfer AIDS through exchanging needles and sharing razor blades. I explained to him that the virus that causes HIV does not live outside of the body for long, and that there are other modes of transmission that are more likely to causes infection, like sex. He then began to talk about condoms. He explained some parts of the process, but then I finally grabbed a condom that was hidden behind a board and actually demonstrated the process of putting on a condom.
I felt happy that I was able to explain this very important tool in keeping safe, but I was also a little disappointed that the main topics that everyone is willing to talk about is sharing needles and razors. The topic of sex finally came up in the discussion, and I remembered a poster made by some boys for the SIDA Competition we held last year. The picture was of a man chasing after a women. The woman was dressed provocatively. Her shadow, however, was a depiction of a demon. The poster then went to the man later, very sick in a wheelchair, and then an image of a tombstone. The first thought that came to my mind was that the image portrayed women not as people, but as temptations for men, as though their only purpose in life was to make men stray from a holy life. I continued to listen to the conversation, and I wondered why they portrayed the women in such a manner. I understand that these kind of societies place emphasis on traditional gender roles, but I never understood why there seemed to be such an antagonism towards the sexes. In America, we have the so-called "Battle of the Sexes", consisting of politicians who want to control the bodies of women through legislation, but in comparison, America looks like a child's kickball game; here, it's an all out war. Men and women are separated for so much of their developmental years. I can't even imagine what life would be like if I had only male peers with whom to associate. My life was already difficult enough in the south; to be completely isolated from women, the only people with whom I really identified, would have killed me.
Another aspect of our job was to help guide men and women to get tested. Testing in Morocco is very low and sporadic, so the numbers, in my opinion, are not very reliable. It is similar to using interviews from people in Los Angeles and New York and then saying that all of America is like that. Any instance where testing can be encouraged is welcome, and we guided both men and women to it. I found out two things at the testing; of the sixty people tested, five showed positive results, a statistic of approximately 8%. That knowledge terrified me, and it still does. I thought of how often the men here go to prostitutes, and with how many men each prostitute has had sex. There are so many times that I wish I could just stand on a corner and tell that to every man who passes by without having him walk away from me. I also found out that there were police waiting at the testing center arresting some of the women for being sex workers. I can only assume that they were women, because, of course, only women can be found guilty of sex work.
I felt used, I felt betrayed, and I was awake all night for many nights, thinking to myself, "Did I encourage one of those women to get tested? Did I just unwittingly ruin the life of a woman?" All I wanted to do was help empower women, and now, if I played a part in the elimination of any freedom that they had, I don't know if I cold live with myself. It makes me feel dirty to know that I could have played a role in reconfirming the patriarchal structure of this country. It is wrong to use people for your own political and selfish benefit. They had no right to use me like that.
The sad thing is that I wish I could say that this sort of inequality is limited to developing nations. But I know it isn't true. Everywhere around the world, there are men who blame women for the violence perpetrated against them. Even in Canada, there is a notion that women who want to take control of their own sexuality deserve violence.
"I'm not supposed to say this," he told a group of students at an Osgoode Hall Law School safety forum on January 24, but to prevent being sexually assaulted, “Avoid dressing like sl
What I don't understand is how a sex that claims traits like "taking responsibility" and "strength" can both take advantage of women and then have the gall to shift the blame to the victim. This takes place everywhere, not just here. I don't understand men. I don't understand their psychology, and I don't understand the way they speak to each other. I can only hope that one day, we will be able to consistently hold an enlightened view of women and of men. Because the encouragement of these characteristics in boys not only does violence to women, but also to men. When you create barriers between the sexes, you create barriers inside of each group, as well. All people are individual creations. All people have their own unique qualities that should be encouraged. By respecting each person for who they are, they, in turn, will learn to respect others for who they are, also. With self respect comes respect for others. When you respect others for who they are, you no longer fear them, but can appreciate them for what they are.
Yes, I still feel frustrated over what happened, but I should know by now that this fear of women is universal. I only hope that one day, they will lose that fear.
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