I need your help!

As a Peace Corps volunteer, now living in Morocco for over a year, I have had the opportunity to get to know and work closely with community members. Also serving as a Peace Corps representative for the Gender and Development Committee I have become fully enveloped in working with girls and women in Morocco who are struggling and want to make a difference. I have now paired up with a Morocco non-governmental organization called the Moroccan Women Network Initiative and we are working to help improve the lives of young girls and women across the country. I am writing to you because your help is needed to improve the condition of women like my friend Zenib.
Zenib is 17 and like many girls in rural areas, her family depends heavily on her unpaid and often invisible contributions to her family and community. She undertakes much of the domestic labor needed for poor families to survive. She is the water carrier, the wood gatherer, the harvester, caretaker of the livestock and of the old, sick and young. Her family does not think she is a source of income and thus does not invest in her health or education. Zenib is not aware of the opportunities around her yet wishes to make a change in her life but does not know where to start and fears no one is there to support her. She is of marrying age and soon she will be married off to someone of her family’s choosing and will be expected to bear and prepare children for the next generation. Due to poverty and her lack of education Zenib like many other girls might be compelled in the future to seek employment. She will most likely end up in a low skilled job with minimal pay, long hours and unequal power relations that often lead to exploitation. To prevent her future daughters from entering into this cycle it is important to have her physically and intellectually prepared so as not to pass on her illiteracy and poor health to her next generation.
The good news is that within the past decade, Moroccan society has passed important legal reforms transforming women’s lives like the new family law that was enacted in 2004 by King Mohammad VI which provides a legal framework for girls across Morocco, like Zenib to create a better future for themselves. The minimum age of marriage was raised from 15 to 18, the family is now the joint responsibility of both spouses as opposed to just the mans, the wife's duty of obedience to her husband was rescinded, there is an expanded access to divorce for women, and the practice of polygamy was placed under strict judicial control. Now women in Morocco have more of an opportunity to become politicians, intellectuals, activists, police women, and spiritual advisors. Yet, despite the major legal reforms, gender disparities are still prevalent and many are facing resistance due to lack of awareness about the new laws and accomplishments of women that are related to existing poverty and fear of the changes that are occurring throughout the country.
To address these issues, the Moroccan Women Network Initiative and I are working to bring together the collective wisdom and creativity of women in Morocco who are leading change and spreading their message across the country into hard to reach places. This network will be composed of men and women committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights. This organization will reach out internationally including input and support from various groups. The internet will be utilized as an electronic forum for information sharing, capacity building, networking and strategizing. The network will all come together in an annual forum with the first projected date being the spring of 2011.
With your financial support we will harbor visual media to profile and spotlight Moroccan women community leaders through a series of films which will document the stories of women and girls who through education and perseverance have managed to break the shackles of socio-economic and gender constraints to make a positive improvement in their communities and lives. These women have become role models for girls in Morocco but their stories are yet untold. We will change that and help spread these women’s voices.
These films will work on a variety of levels. They will be used as a tool to motivate parents to ensure their daughters continue schooling, generate demand in the community for equal opportunity and to inspire girls to make a positive impact in their community and for themselves. The films impact will be increased with an action guide that will list available resources for women’s equality and rights as well as activities and workshops focused on gender development and leadership. It will be designed to support the development of women’s skills and help them become participants in issues that concern them by offering engaging and dynamic activities to motivate and enable women to believe in their abilities to catalyze change and motivate others to do the same. A brief history and transition of the situation of women in Morocco will be included, listings of internship and mentoring programs, film discussion questions as well as geographically and topically categorized information of organizations, institutions and individuals who can help.
The films and action guide will be facilitated by Peace Corps volunteers in their rural communities and through the Moroccan Women’s Network Initiative at a grass roots level to help viewers of the film through innovative and effective ways to start taking action right now to tackle the challenges they face. With the Moroccan Women’s Network underway, and our team and itinerary set for the film, we need your help financing our travel and post production costs and we need these funds by April 2010 in order to carry out our project on time. During the month of April the Moroccan Women’s Network Initiative will be traveling the country conducting our interviews. We are contributing as a community $3,600, roughly 44% of our whole project cost and need help with raising the remaining $4,600. This film project and resource guide are monumental in spreading awareness and encouragement to hard to reach places and your donation of $20 or $200 can help make a huge difference in the lives of girls like Zenib. Investing in young women leadership is essential to social change now and for the future.
We need these funds by April 2010 in order to carry out our project on time. Please act now by visiting the Peace Corps Partnership website where you can make a tax-deductable contribution.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=378-120

Also visit the Moroccan Women’s Network Initiative website for more information about our project or please contact me for further information.
http://initiativesdesfemmes.webs.com/

“A small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead