By ahblackwell
For the past month, I have been conducting primary and secondary research on the effects of social attitudes towards female premarital sexuality on adolescent reproductive health in Morocco. In order to obtain my research, I interviewed several young Moroccan women about relationship practices and sexual norms among Moroccan youth, I met with representatives of two sexual health-centered NGOs, and I met with an Islamic scholar who specializes in sexuality in Islam. My project advisor, Dr. Abdessamad Dialmy, is also the premier scholar on Islam and Sexuality in Morocco. The project itself was eye-opening, but I think the part of the project that I learned from the most was collecting primary research in Morocco. This morning, I submitted my 37-page document to my program coordinator, and on Tuesday I will give a 20-minute presentation on my project to our academic directors, my project advisor, and about half of my classmates. I feel relieved that the project is over, but also incredibly proud of myself for accomplishing such an academic feat. Who knew, when I talked to college admissions counselors in my senior year of high school about my desire to study Arabic, go to the Middle East, and work with women on matters of women's health, that I would actually be able to accomplish such a task. I have truly accomplished a life goal, and I plan to do a lot more in my future regarding similar research and service.
The following is the conclusion section of my research paper, "Female Premarital Sexuality in Morocco: Social Stigmatization and Sexual Health":
In his lecture at the CCCL, Dr. Dialmy stated that Morocco is in the middle of what he refers to as the Sexual Transition Theory. Based on the transition of a country moving through stages of conservative religiosity and secularism, the theory has three stages: 1) religiosity of both sexual norms and practices, 2) religiosity of sexual norms with secularity of sexual practices, and 3) secularity of both sexual norms and sexual practices.
Building from my research, both my fieldwork and my secondary background research, I must agree that Morocco is situated right in the middle of a social transition. However, I believe that the majority of the country is more inclined towards religiosity of sexual norms and therefore remains slightly more traditional in practice, as well.
In my conversations with young Moroccan women, all of the women gave answers that were based in conservative social beliefs and practice. Despite shutting the door and making sure I was the only one who would hear or have record of the interview, the young women had little knowledge of sexual practice - or even little knowledge of others who might have engaged in sexual activity. What is confusing, however, is the disconnect between their admissions and the modern adolescent reality that was frequently discussed in both my background research and in the interviews I conducted with experts on sexuality in Morocco. I feel that this disconnect can be attributed to one of two things: either the old medina is an unrepresentative anomaly, or the girls with whom I spoke were not giving entirely honest answers. The Rabat medina, as I mentioned above, is not representative of all urban communities due to the traditional and conservative nature of its inhabitants. Nonetheless, all Moroccan cities have substantial populations that live within these areas. In addition, most populations that live outside of urban centers in Morocco, due to lack of access to education and geographical marginalization, are almost guaranteed to be more socially conservative than even the urban medina communities. Therefore, even though the old medina in Rabat is not an entirely representative population, it does embody a significant social viewpoint within the country.
With regard to the responses of the young women, I must tread carefully. As stated before, they could simply represent a more conservative social perspective and truly not have much knowledge on the sexual practices of urban Moroccan youth. However, it is also possible that the girls did not feel comfortable with sharing their real experience or knowledge on these subjects, for which the reason I could not truly understand without further investigation. Either way, conducting more interviews with a more varied population might have assisted my understanding of the situation, at hand. If I had more time to conduct my research, or if I were to repeat this project, I would contact a wider range of young women in order to ensure a more representative social opinion.
The reality of the sexual health of Moroccan youths as stated by NGO representatives and Moroccan health studies, though it differs from the reality of the young women I interviewed, must still be addressed. Morocco faces a series of transitions as it continues to improve its education and social infrastructure. Although a large percentage of the population might still align with more conservative social values and ideologies, Moroccan law is pushing to uphold human rights in order to ensure a better future for its country. Health is perhaps one of the most essential factors in the fulfillment of basic human rights. The biggest challenge for the health - and therefore the rights - of young Moroccans is that sex outside of marriage is forbidden. This prohibition allows for stigmatization to brew and, as a result, for women to live in fear of the way society might react to an adolescent mistake. Negative social perceptions of premarital sex give rise to secretive and ill-informed sexual encounters between Moroccan youth who cannot access information on, or protection from, the realities of sexual relationships. The consequences of this hidden conduct, including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancies out of wedlock, continue to be huge issues for the health of Moroccan women, in particular.
Despite the conservative religious values of some Moroccans, family planning methods including sexual education, oral contraceptives, condoms, and intrauterine devices, are necessary in order to improve the health status of young Moroccan women. Through programs implemented by NGOs, family planning services have become more accessible to urban Moroccans. However, without the support of religious institutions and leaders, those programs cannot hope to make a substantial impact on all Moroccan communities. In countries where religion plays a major role in society and government, such as in Morocco, social development cannot be separated from religion. The success of adolescent reproductive health programs and the accessibility of family planning services for women depends on cooperation between NGOs, the Moroccan government, and religious leaders and institutions in order to ensure a health plan that will be supported by society and that can work to reduce social stigmatization.