Morocco has a low prevalence of the HIV infection, compared to other African countries. According to official figures, 2,800 Moroccans have presented the symptoms of the disease, whilst 22,300 have been infected and live with the virus, since the discovery of the illness in the 1980s. A day of campaigning, information and screening of HIV/AIDS was organized throughout the country on April 25.
The country has a reputation of tolerance, and although this is mainly a young and fairly open society there are still instances of prejudices suffered by people infected with the virus, and the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS as blogger Miloud reminds us:
ينظر المجتمع المغربي إلى هؤلاء المصابين باحتقار أحيانا وبخوف في أحايين أخرى، فالمغاربة يعتبرون أن السيدا لعنة إلهية تصيب المرء عقابا على سلوكه المنحرف البعيد عن الأخلاق والدين الإسلامي، وبناء على ذلك ينبذون المصابين […] يعيشون وسط القلق والاكتئاب والميولات الانتحارية بسبب هذا النبذ الاجتماعي وعدم التفهم الذي قد يكون في كثير من الأحيان من طرف أقرب الأقرباء.
Gay-Maroc-Musul, a blog interested in Moroccan gay issues, reminds us how financing is important and explains how NGOs, including the Moroccan prominent Anti-Aids association ALCS, who have met with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on April 22nd, to ask for more funds for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, have been disappointed by the minister's response:
[Les associations] ont fait valoir que le Fond Mondial n’avait plus assez de ressources pour financer tous les projets techniquement et scientifiquement validés qui lui sont soumis par les pays les plus pauvres. Mais Bernard Kouchner a clairement exclu toute augmentation de la France au Fonds mondial, confirmant juste le maintien de son financement actuel.
The HIV-AIDS pandemic has undeniably transformed the approach of many countries toward sexual questions that have long been considered taboo, especially in conservative societies. And as the Moroccan society tries to figure out the best way to fight the infection, and as discussions on sexual matters get more and more open throughout the blogosphere, we learn about signs of “sexual emancipation” as some would call it. According to Vanessa Pellegrin, a journalist based in Casablanca and blogging on the collective blog Casawaves:
Contrairement aux idées reçues, les marocaines (surtout celles âgées entre 20 et 25 ans) sont friandes [de sextoys]. Mis à part les commandes privées faites à une amie qui s’envolerait pour l’Europe, et qui ramènerait avec elle un jouet coquin sous le manteau, il existe de vrais réseaux, parfaitement discrets et organisés qui se chargent de vendre ces jouets pour adultes.
This post provoked a passionate and frenzied response.
14 comments
Thanks Hisham for covering such an important issue. Living in Morocco, I was always surprised by the dichotomous attitude toward HIV. Young friends would support local efforts to pass out condoms on the street or educate youth about the disease, but would privately confide the attitude that “it doesn’t happen to good people.”
Excellent first post!
There is indeed a lot of ambivalence toward the issue of HIV/AIDS in a society still quite conservative. Whilst -as you rightly put it Jillian- many acknowledge the importance of preventive measures, there is still a heavy moral and religious undertone attached to the infection, which practically doesn’t help the fight against the disease.
I’m sure the sale of adult merchandise is banned in Morocco, but is possession of sex toys also illegal?
@Anna:
I’m not sure about the legal details of it all but the Moroccan law is not clear in that matter. It refers to vague “immoral”, “deviant” behavior which -at the discretion of a judge- may include everything from selling to possessing such items.
For what it’s worth, there is a small shop that does sell milder sex toys (e.g. edible underwear) in the town where I used to live. It’s run by a really elderly lady, which always made me giggle. She sells other stuff too, of course.
Technically, edible underwear is food?
Bismillah AR Rahman Ar Rahim
As Salaamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Insha Allah I hope that sexual satisfaction will not continue to be viewed as the panacea for Morocco’s problems. There are some variables that contribute to the inertia that has become trademark of that country such as a mind-boggling illiteracy rate despite high accessibility to the internet (a major source of educational information even for those who are drop-outs); a governing body that is merely a puppet manipulated by Israeli and American protocols; lack of adequate health care for all individuals with or without HIV disease and most significantly a withdrawal and turning away from the sincere practice of Islam-I deliberately placed this on the bottom of the totem pole because it is the first and most powerful weapon in the arsenal of cure for the surmounting maladies of the Moroccan people. The vibration of a sex toy and the short-lived pleasure it brings cannot fill the widening void that threatens to engulf the lives of a people who have lost hope. A people who have had a rich Islamic history! The dependency upon the French has to be broken and assistance should be sought from Allah SWT…meaning Allah SWT will guide the seekers of truth to a genuine source of assistance. My message to the Moroccans…do not give up your faith in Allah SWT. Turn back to Him and seek his Rahmah through sincere worship.