Women's Empowerment and the Feminization of Poverty among

harassment when attending school or jobs (Ibid.: 143). This then accounts for a variety of socialpatterns, including transformations of social action in the context of modernization. Mernissi arguesthat the Shari’a-based Moudawana views men and women as antagonists and dooms the conjugalunit to conflict” (Ibid.: 163). This is a testimony that the traditional spatial structures have notchanged but reaffirmed men’s right of authority over women they can no longer control.Bearing the Islamic grounding and qaraba idea in mind, Moroccan social experience isoften interpreted from a common-sense perspective of the way things are – “the inequality of menin this world is too matter-of-fact to be a matter of speculation to most Moroccans” (Mernissi, 1985:153). This demonstrates how Moroccan society functions according to the aforementioned fiveconcepts. Many social inequalities are attributed to God’s will as an explanation of both the currentand future state of affairs (Ibid.: 126). The implications here are that Moroccan men are empoweredto take the world as it is and to use their empirical observations to act; however, only for himself, asGod’s will determines the moral and economic fate of others (Ibid.: 128). The second concept ofreason is assumed to be more fully developed in men than in women, simply because femaleactivities are confined to the private sphere of the house and quarter (Ibid.: 132). It is critical to notehere that women still hold power within their own spheres (Ibid.).Propriety as the third concept dictates regular face-to-face relations, a quality acquired as aperson matures. For example, as a boy gains maturity, only his mother will then “continuemanifestly to display affection toward him” (Mernissi, 1985: 138). These ties become so strong thatwidowed or divorced mothers may frequently live with their sons for economic and moral support,pushing the fourth concept of obligation (Ibid.). The pluralistic exchange of obligations isprescribed by Islamic law, and any serious breach in this exchange introduces the fifth concept ofcompulsion that is placed on one who fails to come to another’s aid or faces serious social dishonor(Ibid.: 149). Should this weight not be lifted, a person is condemned by social judgement, whichincludes a man’s economic as well as moral situation (Ibid.).Those who do fall in moral and social judgement are excluded from Moroccan society. Inanother study by anthropologist Rabinow, “even the poorest families were not reluctant to discussand lament their economic situation” (1977: 116). Poverty lacks a stigma in Morocco, as it onlyindicates a lack of material goods, until it is combined with a compromising moral or socialjudgement (Ibid.). Thus, poorer women pregnant outside of wedlock are banished and chastized aslone mothers who are undesirable, illegitimate and socially unrecognized (Laala Hafdane, 2003:163). 16 When they seek economic independence, this is fundamentally considered a revolt and16All references to Laala Hafdane (2003) are translations to English by the researcher from French original.25