Some Thoughts on Solo Women Traveling in Morocco

Before I arrived in Morocco, my main concern about the trip wasn't my security or having to deal with harassment or the language barrier: it was having to negotiate those issues alone. When I am traveling with another person or a group, I feel equal to dealing with anything that would foreseeably arise, but it can still intimidate me to have to be fully self-reliant.

That is where I really didn't need to waste energy worrying. I've been staying in hostels, and up to this point in Morocco, the hard thing has been to find time to be alone, not to find people to join up with. Especially given what an introvert I can be, this really surprised me. It is so, so easy to meet people here, and I've really enjoyed it. Last Tuesday, I spent a great day visiting the main tourist sites and having lunch with two new friends from Chile and Belgium. On my return from the waterfall last Wednesday night, another solo woman traveler from Poland arrived and we set out together for the day and then signed up for a three day tour to the desert together. There were four other women on the tour and we all became friendly. Last Thursday, when the Polish girl and I were having lunch in a cafe, we struck up a conversation with a solo Englishwoman at the table next to us, and it turns out that it was her 14th trip to Morocco and she knew absolutely everything about how to bargain in the souk and where to travel. We spent a terrific afternoon with her. Interacting with all these people has added a really special dimension to my trip, and I probably wouldn't have met any of them if I had been traveling with friends or family. Plus, after having become oriented to Morocco and Marrakesh while in their company, taking some time to myself doesn't worry me now.

If you are a woman considering solo travel, definitely do your homework before you go and do your best to understand what you'll likely be encountering when you arrive at your destination. Pay careful attention to the sensibilities of the people who are describing their travel experiences to you, because if their travel styles and comfort levels are not similar to yours, their advice won't be very helpful. If you want to stay in hostels and travel by public bus, the insights of a person who holed up in the Club Med on Djmaa al Fna behind a ten foot fence simply aren't going to apply to you. And the reverse is also true.

If you're concerned about it, try hard to research what kinds of things will help you to blend in. For instance, when I'm in Morocco, I see all kinds of female tourists wearing really skimpy clothes that I probably wouldn't wear at home in DC. One girl in the square yesterday was wearing a skin tight, skin colored, low cut tank top and short shorts. I feel a little bit like that's akin to a woman walking down the street in my neighborhood in DC in a bikini. The clothing and the context just don't match, and it greatly increases the likelihood of uncomfortable interactions. The woman dressed this way received a very different kind of attention than I do, and I would imagine that she will probably leave Morocco with a much different impression of the place and its people than what I have. I consider myself a feminist, so I am deliberately setting aside the question of whether women *should* have to alter their dress in more conservative countries. Instead, just to address the practical question of how women can move about the city and country with a minimum of hassle and actually enjoy their visits, it really helps to cover up a bit.

Women traveling with a man rarely seem to get hassled. Women traveling in groups also seem unaffected. But when I'm on my own or traveling with just one other woman here, I find I'm personally most comfortable dressing more conservatively than I do at home. I usually wear pants that cover the knee and that aren't tight; short sleeved shirts (or sleeveless shirts along with a light scarf covering my shoulders and chest--it is over a hundred degrees here now, after all); and either sunglasses or a hat with a brim so that I can avoid people's eyes if I'm feeling unwanted attention or weird vibes. I also understand that in this culture, when a woman makes eye contact with a man and smiles, it is interpreted much differently than at home, where it is only polite. Here it's a considered a come-on.

I always try to show respect towards others and try to communicate through my clothes and non-verbal communication that I expect respect in return. Except on rare occasions, I get it. I just spent two hours on a blistering hot walk through part of the medina where there were hardly any tourists (got lost again on my way to the bus station to buy a ticket for tomorrow), and I heard a couple of men mumble things in French that I couldn't understand--and that I should maybe be glad I couldn't understand--but far more perfectly respectful "Bonjours" and "Salaams."

When I'm on the street, I smile or say hello in Arabic to almost all of the children I pass by and the women who look receptive to a word. Sometimes I get nothing in response, but sometimes I get a smile or a word back. I invite that contact from them, but not from the men. Unless I'm about to conduct a business transaction with a man or if he has politely invited me into his shop in the souk or if he has somehow demonstrated respect for me, for example, I usually keep to myself. And guess what: it works. In the eight days that I've been here, I haven't had anything vulgar said to me, and I've only had one icky proposition (from a guy who invited me back to his house when he saw I was lost). You could do worse than that in Washington, DC.

The point is, to the extent possible, I've chosen my interactions with people and selected for ones where I'll be treated with common courtesy and basic respect. I absolutely sympathize with women who resent having to cope with this kind of stuff, but if these concessions seem altogether too burdensome, I'd advise them that another destination would probably suit them better than Morocco, at least for solo travel. But for me, the tradeoff is definitely worth it. Dress a little more conservatively than you would at home, don't go out of your way to make eye contact with men you don't know, and communicate respect nonverbally. Or just make some new friends here and travel in a pack together. None of these options seem like so much to ask, and it seems to be working just fine.

It's worth pointing out that these are good strategies for *Morocco* but they aren't universal, or even applicable throughout other Muslim countries. I traveled in Egypt a year and a half ago with my best friend Janet, and we were constantly harassed in the most vulgar and disgusting English I've ever heard. Literally every time we set foot on the street, a chorus of hisses and comments would follow us wherever we went. I am an adventurous traveler and there are a lot of amazing things in Egypt that I didn't get a chance to visit on that trip, but there is no way in hell that I would ever consider traveling there on my own. No way. It was winter and cold in Cairo, and we were bundled up in layer after layer of clothing. We tried to respect the local norms, we communicated in Arabic as much as we were able, and it just didn't matter. I did everything I could to accommodate being in the culture, short of wearing a headscarf, and none of it mattered. And consequently, I will be pursuing my adventures and taking my custom elsewhere. In Turkey, I found the social climate very welcoming of women and actually less cumbersome than Morocco, especially in Istanbul.

Keep in mind, too, that sometimes standards (or the number and nature of comments) differ in rural and urban areas within the same country. In some small towns that are used to tourism, nobody blinks an eye at shorts and tank tops that I wouldn't want to be wearing in front of groups of men in Marrakesh. Rural areas unaccustomed to tourists can be be trickier--I get the impression that the offense people would take at visitors being scantily covered is greater, but people are less likely to make comments to the woman. In my experience, open harassment seems to be most common in cities away from major tourist sites. But keep your eyes open, pay attention to what's happening around you, and always, always be polite and respectful to people, and you'll generally be fine.

If you do a few simple things to adapt, or if you trust that you can find travel buddies when you arrive, it is easy to have a rich, rewarding solo trip to Morocco. A lot of writers suggested otherwise, and I'm sorry to say that I almost let their impressions (and insecurities? lack of knowledge about how to accommodate the local culture?) deprive me of an amazing experience. There is no question that dressing and behaving as though one were in Europe or the US could lead to some really awkward situations here, and that if I had done that I'd probably be miserable right now. But a few small concessions in clothing and attitude make all the difference in the world. For women interested in solo travel to Morocco, I just have one thing to say: GO!!!! Be respectful and aware of how you present yourself, but by all means go!