https://reasonstobecheerful.world/morocco-recipe-for-womens-empowerment/
"All over the city of Marrakesh, football fever had taken hold. Africa’s
continent-wide soccer competition, AFCON, was being hosted in Morocco. And
here, at the Amal Targa Center, a fan zone had been set up for the big clash
between Egypt and Benin.
Yet the most impressive team performing that night was not a group of sports
stars. It was the half dozen young women cooking up an epicurean storm, from
mouthwatering burgers to spicy
merguez sandwiches and decadent chocolate
waffles.
This pop-up fast food is far from the only style of cooking that Elhiba has
been taught during her time with Amal, a Marrakesh-based nonprofit that sees
chef training as the recipe for women’s empowerment in Morocco. During the
course, which runs for about nine months, she is learning how to make staples
like
khobz bread, classics like
tajine stews, French gastronomy, as well as
her new favorite cuisine: sushi.
“I really like it,” says Elhiba, who has since become a fan of Japanese anime
and K-dramas. “Even my mom asks me to cook it for her.”
Elhiba is one of more than 350 women who have been trained by Amal since it was
founded in 2012. The nonprofit’s goal is to address the stark gender
inequalities in the north African nation. The World Economic Forum’s
Global
Gender Gap Report 2025 ranked Morocco 137th out of 148 countries. And, despite
making up roughly half of the population, Moroccan women represented just over
22 percent of the workforce in 2024, according to the International Labor
Organization.
Moroccan women “continue to face discrimination, harassment and barriers in
various facets of life, both public and private,” a recent report by
Afrobarometer concluded."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
