Women of Essaouira
Essaouira, Morocco 1995
White is the color of the haik worn by women of Essaouira. In Taroudant, a hundred or so miles to the south, the color is a medium blue and in the desert, it is black. The haik is worn only when the women go out of the home. Underneath they wear a dress with long sleeves and an ankle length skirt. The veil is not worn in the home.
It was late evening when I shot this photo. The women most likely had their tagines on the fire, bubbling away. Perhaps their daughter-in-law was preparing the dinner and they had the luxury of an evening stroll in the sea air, time to chat with friends and catch up on gossip.
I often read of how mistreated women are in Muslim countries. It’s true, their lives are confined and constricted compared to ours in the west. But…women do retire in Morocco. I mean women who have raised a family and cooked and washed and cleaned all their lives. They retire when their oldest son takes a wife. After that moment, heart wrenching though it may be to see him transfer some of his affection to her, the mother’s work comes to a halt. Now she has a ‘servant’ that she can boss around, someone to cook and clean for her. Now she has someone she can complain about when she goes out for her evening walk by the sea. Priceless!