When shall we go to school?
Thousands of small girls across Morocco do not get a chance to attend school or finish their first education especially in rural areas. Besides lack of boarding schools and shortage of teachers, other severe factors contribute to prevent these girls from receiving formal education.
As the above picture indicates, it’s very important to start with child labor which is one of the main reasons behind this widespread phenomenon. Many children in Morocco start to exercise different types of works at an early age, for instance once girls reach five or six years old they embark on a never-ending household chores inside and outside the house, bearing in mind that the outside work in villages and remote areas involves walking long distances through rough roads to bring water or fetch woods, they also work in farms watering fields or collecting crops. This daily work leads these small girls to acquire all those skills that a villager needs in order to survive in harsh environments, hence becoming and behaving like adults. This really becomes obvious to all of us when we look and examine the faces of these kids that have been affected by too much exposure to sun and long hours of work.
Some lucky girls do attend primary school to learn the basics of numeracy and to acquire reading and writing skills. But unfortunately most of them do not make it to secondary or high school, mainly due to family expectations that see a girl as someone who should get married as soon as she reaches the age of puberty. And also, due to the absence of middle and high schools in small villages. When we delve deeply into this topic we will find that such work at this age is inevitable for children, family life in a remote villages necessitates the participation of all family members to carry their work so as to keep its daily needs satisfied.
Ignoring the sufferings of these girls is a shame in 21 century, the present situation won’t change unless we all combine our efforts to help them live their childhood and realize their dreams. The authorities and civil society must think and care about these children by providing them with educational and recreational facilities.
Said Idlhaj
