By Emelia Hitchner
Modernization and social revolution are beginning to define the face of Morocco, a country located in northwest Africa.
On a recent visit to the United States, Doctor Zahra Tamouh enlightened Daytona State College with her knowledge of the advancements Morocco has achieved in the past 50 years. At 34 years old, Tamouh has mastered three languages, including Arabic, French and English, proving that education for women has become accessible and necessary in her country.
Economy, education and communication have become the focus points of Morocco, according to Tamouh, comparing present day Morocco to years of the past, when modernization was not a priority to society.
Morocco is home to a population of 31 million with a growth rate of 1.1 percent. Recent social changes are a contribution of the urbanization increase, as families residing in rural areas seek life in the imperial cities of Morocco. With these recent immigrations, Tamouh adds that the social structure of the family has also undergone construction, placing the spotlight on the youth of the family instead of the elderly. The transformation of the household and living extremes has gone from traditional to modern, emphasizing the importance of youth and education.
Tamouh further explains that schooling has undergone a dramatic increase, with enrollment reaching a staggering number of 5.8 million in the year of 2003 alone. Fifty years ago, the enrollment numbers were much smaller, just under four hundred thousand.
“The key for transformation and modernity is education. We are having a younger generation become more and more educated,” said Tamouh.
Studying in public universities is without cost, and presently, just as many female students are enrolled as male students, another product of social change within the last half century. Education for women is desired, with the role of females being recognized as an importance at home and in society.
“Twenty percent of women are now head of the household. There has been a dramatic change in the past fifty years. The education of women now benefits the whole family. Their education is very powerful,” said Tamouh.
With education, Moroccan women are more likely to marry later in life, and to have fewer children.
“There is a growing woman role in decision making, even if they do not work. Many people think that in the Arab world, women are weak, but they are very strong,” Tamouh said.
The social structure of Morocco has benefited from the lack of gender discrimination and females are treated the same as males, as women are educated to speak out and assume rights.
The strategy of tourism has boosted Morocco’s economy. There’s been an increase in the communication fields, including television and radio. Due to the influence of the outside world, the younger generation has contributed to the modernization of the Moroccan culture.
Satellite dishes can be purchased for 150 dollars, a one time fee that offers unlimited access to channels that are either taken from the east of Morocco, or the west, another factor feeding the diversity of social change in the country. Around one third of the population uses the Internet and many people use cell phones.
“The communication with the Internet and the cell phones has helped give a cultural change for the younger generation. This communication is very powerful and exceptional,” said Tamouh.
Adrienne and Paul Grossman, a couple attending Tamouh’s lecture, spoke of their experience in Morocco. Stationed by the Air Force in Morocco from 1959 to 1962, the Grossmans were emphatic about the years they spent getting to know the Moroccan culture.
“When we lived there, there was no tourism. Now there is tourism, the children are in school, the people are working, it’s wonderful,” said Adrienne Grossman. “But they’re still doing the same thing their ancestors did hundreds of years ago,” added Paul Grossman.
Even though Morocco has undergone extreme social changes through modernization, the country still cradles the past of its ancestors fervently, concluded the professor.