{"id":195516,"date":"2025-04-20T22:58:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T22:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/moroccos-new-generation-of-trailblazing-women\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T22:58:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T22:58:36","slug":"moroccos-new-generation-of-trailblazing-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=195516","title":{"rendered":"Morocco\u2019s new generation of trailblazing women"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In a country where more than 80 per cent of women in rural areas can\u2019t read and write and aren\u2019t encouraged to pursue education, Intrepid\u2019s women leaders are effecting change.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s an often unspoken but deeply felt kinship that connects the women of Morocco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a country where more than 80 per cent of women in rural areas can\u2019t read and write and aren\u2019t encouraged \u2013 or allowed \u2013 to pursue education, the future can feel limited and opportunities scarce. But beneath these statistics are powerful women linking arms and lifting one another up.<\/p>\n

Zina Bencheikh<\/a> is Intrepid\u2019s General Manager (GM) of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It\u2019s a role brimming with immense and powerful responsibility, which Zina grabs with both hands.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m originally from Morocco, but travelled a lot when I was younger.\u2019 One of three daughters, Zina knows the way she was raised \u2013 by parents who believed in the importance of empowering their kids through education \u2013 is not typical for a young Moroccan woman.<\/p>\n

From the time she joined Intrepid, in her mid-20s, Zina understood not only that her position was a unique one, but that she had a unique opportunity to celebrate the skills, creativity and hospitality of the women around her.<\/p>\n

\u2018We started to do a lot of work to support women in Morocco, whether it\u2019s female guides or the Women\u2019s Expedition<\/a> we launched in 2018.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

In 2017, Intrepid set the goal to double the number of female leaders worldwide by 2020. In Morocco at the time, the total number was zero \u2013 so doubling wasn\u2019t going to cut it.<\/p>\n

\u2018We really wanted to have as many women as possible working with us,\u2019 says Hala Benkhaldoun, Intrepid\u2019s GM of Morocco. To her, every visitor exploring the tropical gardens of Marrakech, the red soiled High Atlas Mountains and the ports of Essaouira is another opportunity to provide for the women of Morocco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Providing employment for women is vital, but Hala and Zina also zoom out often, and look for chances to enact more systemic change.<\/p>\n

\u2018Especially in rural areas and from a very early age, there is this discriminatory custom of keeping the girls at home and the little boys continue their studies. So there is a big gender gap when talking about education and illiteracy,\u2019 Hala explains. \u2018The women are not free.\u2019<\/p>\n

Investing in the futures of young women, Education For All<\/a> is a not-for-profit organisation that runs boarding houses in rural areas.<\/p>\n

\u2018When we started in 2007, we were told, \u201cEducation is not for girls, only for boys\u201d,\u2019 says Latifa Aliza, who worked as Education For All\u2019s first house mother. \u2018It started with ten. Ten girls can make a big difference.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since then, they\u2019ve shepherded over 600 graduates from 65 remote villages into lives, careers and further education rich with choice.<\/p>\n

\u2018Education For All is getting education closer to girls,\u2019 Hala says. \u2018If we start from education, then everything else will follow.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the work the women of Ait BenHaddou got as extras on Game of Thrones or Gladiator \u2013 which were filmed in the town\u2019s famous ochre-coloured ksar \u2013 that has supported and encouraged them, so much as it is their pioneering approach to running Tawesna, a women-founded teahouse.<\/p>\n

Leila Adzou is the manager of Tawesna, and has seen the upward mobility the local women have enjoyed since the day in 2018 when 40 of them banded together to serve tea, pastries and conversation to visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u2018Now we have money to buy our own things: could be jewellery, could be dresses, could be anything.\u2019 The kind of indulgences those with husbands were rarely granted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018My dream is to get this project bigger, bigger, and get more ladies involved in this. Women in other villages could learn from our example and set up a business for themselves as a community and become very independent.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nearby, artist Hafida Zizi is exploring identity, tradition and culture in bold primary colours. Her tableaus capturing the lives of Moroccan women and girls have been exhibited in galleries around the world. And she\u2019s always looking for ways to hold the door open for the next generation of curious creatives.<\/p>\n

Wherever she goes, Zina has her eyes and ears open for even more local women with a passion to share with visitors. She\u2019s introduced to them by word of mouth, and in-the-know locals who\u2019ve seen the ripple effect of giving women like Leila the tools to forge their own futures.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s why the local presence is so important,\u2019 she says. \u2018Because there\u2019s no magic source. It\u2019s just being there, listening, talking, exchanging, travelling.\u2019<\/p>\n

Join Intrepid on an incredible women-only adventure<\/a> or explore our full range of Morocco trips<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a country where more than 80 per cent of women in rural areas can\u2019t read and write and aren\u2019t encouraged to pursue education, Intrepid\u2019s women leaders are effecting change. There\u2019s an often unspoken but deeply felt kinship that connects the women of Morocco. In a country where more than 80 per cent of women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":195517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11760],"tags":[2266,70305,75692,313],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-195516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","tag-generation","tag-moroccos","tag-trailblazing","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nMorocco\u2019s new generation of trailblazing women - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=195516\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Morocco\u2019s new generation of trailblazing women - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a country where more than 80 per cent of women in rural areas can\u2019t read and write and aren\u2019t encouraged to pursue education, Intrepid\u2019s women leaders are effecting change. 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