Noname202

As Salam Alaikum, i would like other peoples opinions on moving to Morocco to live. My main concern is, that i would be moving there with my wife. She wears full Niqab, and Abayaa, and i also dress Islamic. My question is this, i have heard that the men in Morocco tend to do cat calls, and say other things to foreign women traveling there, as well as local women. So would my wife if she for example ever went out by herself, be harassed by the men there? Would they say to her when she was walking by, or would they come up to her and say something like your eyes are beautiful? Would they try to speak with her?

ladybug888

Are either of you Moroccan?

I have been there 3 times because my husband is Moroccan. He lives there and we are trying to get his visa to come here. I have never ventured out alone. It has always been with my husband, his aunt, or his teenage cousin. I do not dress Islamic. I have never been talked to by a Moroccan man or heard the catcalls, even when my husband or any males are with us. Maybe because we are in an area that if there is an American woman there, her man is sure to be nearby. hahaha. I have heard that the men will harass the women with the catcalls and trying to talk to them. They view foreign women as easy. If your wife wears the niqab and jalaba they will not notice her as much. If she ignores them she should be fine, and the men living nearby will get to know who she is and leave her alone. I don't know what the Moroccan women's reaction will be. I haven't heard anything about that. I get stares wherever I go, even from the kids, because I stand out. I know a woman that wears the niqab and dresses Islamic. She said that they don't know she is American until she speaks, they assume she is French. I wish I could be of more help. There is a book that is about Morccan cultural shock. You should read that before deciding to move. Good luck.

thursdaysd

Well, I (female) walked around towns in Morocco on my own, IN western dress, and had NO issues. Of course, I am not young and blonde, but aside from the expected pushy vendors in the Marrakesh medina, I found everyone to be polite.

UNDERMOROCCANSUN

As a Moroccan I would say your wife will be totally fine, some vendors say in the Medina for example may try to talk to western women same for W men for the sake of having business most of the time. With her Nikab and Abaya I assure you nobody will dare to approach her.
I would recommend Moroccan culure shock book for you.
Good luck with your move.

Guenmai

When I was in Morocco back in either 1982 or 1983 and was around 27 or 28 years old, I went off to Marrakesh alone as I've been going on vacation internationally alone since I was 18. I was out and about for a week alone, in Marrakesh, except for the few hours that I hired a private guide to walk me around so that I could learn the winding alley streets.

When I was alone, yes, I had men and boys talking to me or coming up to me on the street to talk. Some even hissed. I'm used to it as I've been to a lot of places in the world where it's done. I learned female life skills early in life from my parents and just dealt with it, but never felt threatened by the men and boys in Marrakesh. It was a lot more problematic in many European countries than in North Africa and also a pain in Istanbul when I was there in 1999, although I would return to Istanbul in a heartbeat.

While in Morocco, for some reason Moroccans thought I was Mauritanian. I'm from L.A.

Some of the Moroccan men became very protective as they were curious about a young, western woman traveling on her own like I was doing. The same happened the prior summer in Tunisia. I found the men and boys to be really nice and I got a lot of respect after they talked to me and knew that I expected respect and that traveling alone didn't equate to being a fluzzy. They then labeled me "their sister" and would see me in the market place and greet me or walk me places. I have very fond memories of North Africa and have also been to West Africa, twice alone on vacation, in the early 2000s. I had no major problems there either.

Good luck with your move.

Happy Travels!

proficiscorestvivo

I've been living in morocco for four months now, and I can say that whenever I walk alone in the street men are always trying to talk with me. Last day I was in the supermarket and when I went out I found a guy that was in the queque before me, waiting for me cause he wanted give me a lift at home. I found that strange. I always thought that was because I'm european and maybe they think that since I'm living alone and I drink beers (I was buying beers in the supermarket) I'm an easy target.
I spoke several times about that with my male moroccan friends. (when I go out with them none speaks to me) and they say that is it quite common, cause moroccans are like this. Like italians too. And I have to confirm that, because sometimes when I am with some morrocans I know they make loud comments about moroccan women.

ANyway I'm not sure this is gonna happen if a woman wears full Niqab, and Abayaa. I notice on myself that the quantity of comments I receive tends to vary on the way I dress.