Pretty low on the W curve of cultural adjustment right now.
Not much to do when I go back home after classes - homework, dinner, sleep. I had taken to walking around Rabat after my classes to break up the monotony but after this weekend, feel very unsafe doing so. I (along with everyone else in the program) have now gotten so used to cat-calls/heckling/harassment on the streets that I am surprised when I walk by a group of men and don't get unwanted attention. All women are treated this way but being obvious foreigners/Westerners makes you a brighter target.
It usually is not as bad in broad daylight or with groups, and definitely not if you are accompanied by a male but it has been enough to make me feel trapped.
Saturday, after a birthday dinner with most of the group, was the most constant harassment I have observed yet. 2 of my friends were physically assaulted (three separate incidents), I was nearly assaulted, and we all faced countless number of comments/jeering. It's even more frustrating since we don't understand their comments (usually made in French, Darijha, sometimes Spanish if they assume we are Spanish tourists). Our Western mentalities jolt us into wanting to retaliate, to scold them, to make them feel shame but that is probably the worst thing you can do.
That is the NORM here. And, I am realizing, in most places of the world. I come from a lucky place, from America, where being harassed on the street is out of the ordinary. Where misogyny, while still present, is not manifested as severely in rude comments from complete strangers.
Am I spoiled? Have I gotten used to something that is not a reality for most women in the world? I feel guilty for wishing sometimes I had studied abroad in a Western country. But being here is making me realize how opaque of a bubble I have been living in.
All I can do for now is to continue to ignore it, to let it roll of my back, and to appreciate the beauty here. I am determined to not let it mar my experience but right now, it is definitely tainting it.
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<3. I had a similar experience in Ukraine. and you realize that's just what happens. And it still happened when I was walking with my dad. He prevented me from throwing a bottle of water at the guy. You know me and my temper.
ReplyDeletesorry baby <3 i experienced some degree of harassment in barcelona and istanbul, and i think it might be even more obvious i'm a foreigner cause i'm white :P but stay strong and enjoy your experience! btw i am taking a course called the politics of sexual empowerment (it's awesome and you would love it) and do you mind if i excerpt from this entry for one of our discussions? anyway i LOVE YOU and miss you with all my heart,
ReplyDeleteLindsay
Tell them to mangez merde. Kidding, don't say that. But think it. Think it really hard and keep your head up.
ReplyDeleteBastards.
Sads- I can totally relate to the feeling of just being "over it". I don't think it was quite as intense in France as your experiences are sounding (only one girl was physically assaulted/touched inappropriately), but it was also a constant experience. A lot of it definitely has to do with being a foreigner- them hearing you speak another language, dressing differently, etc. Which is why I sometimes tried really hard to "blend", but that can be difficult to do when you have blonde hair living anywhere further south than Germany. But like you said, you just find a way to ignore/deal with it. Frustrating.
ReplyDelete