Like thousands of other Moroccan women — and also men — she would cross every day into the Spanish enclave and come back laden with merchandise for traders. At least four women porters were trampled to death in 2017, in stampedes at the border post — the only land frontier between the EU and Africa. Meanwhile, a metal gate blocks the passage for porters at the border crossing, under the watchful eye of the Moroccan guards. SPEED READ Nicknamed ‘mule women,’ the Moroccan porters would often be seen bent double, overburdened by goods approaching or exceeding their own bodyweight. But “who will employ 50-year-old, illiterate ‘mule women’?” asks Haudour, the shopkeeper.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 02, 2020 03:33 UTC