Ifda dossier 47, May/June 1985

"political and ideological position". In such context, the
quantitative achievement of occupational equality in urban
areas should be accompanied by related questions such as the
rate of increase by sex; the ratio of female performance in
scientific and technical fields; attitudes of various groups
(teachers, administrators, parents, etc.).
However, the improvement of socio-economic indicators is
impeded by various inoperative analytical tools for the eva-
luation of change nation-wide:
"In the first place, there is a very obvious lack of resear-
chers, experts and technologists. And those that do exist
are very often placed in administrative jobs and 'digested'
by the bureaucratic machine. Secondly, the methods and tools
for investigating, measuring and analyzing the situation of
the majority of Moroccan women, do not exist" (p.24).
In addition, there is an obvious gender discrimination both
in education and employment. As identified by Bennani:
I n Morocco the participation of women in the economy in
general and in industry in particular is substantial al-
though it is more often than not ignored and its value re-
mains only partially recognized. The problem is a lack of
education. The national illiteracy rate is 76 percent for
all citizens, and for females it is 86 percent at the na-
tional level and 98 percent in the rural area" g/.
On the idealogical level, the concept of "domestication" is
manifested in educators' behaviour and attitudes to female
education:
"The female teacher daily drills into girls the conviction
of their own degradation. 'You are only a girl', 'a pretty
girl is a semi-loss, an ugly girl is a total loss'. Simi-
larly, ignorant mothers 'train' their daughters in housework
duties and prepare them to assume their 'natural' role in
society." (ib., p.20)
The discrimination against women is further reflected in the
labour-market by the degree of women's participation in va-
rious aspects of public life. For example, the industrial
sector is generally believed to be exclusively a "male do-
main". This belief is fostered by cultural attitudes and
related family laws preventing Moroccan women from parti-
cipation in the process of development. Similarly, the same
segregation is manifested in training programs initially
planned for the integration and advancement of women's con-
ditions in cooperation with international development agen-
IS/. Fatima-Zohra Bennani-Baiti, "The Role of Women in Industrializa-
-
tkn: A Case Study of Morocco" in Women and Industrialization in Develo-
ping Countries (Neu York: U m O , 1982) p.95