Why do people keep telling tourist woman to dress conservative yet I see Moroccan girls showing cleavage?

Question

Why do people keep telling the females to cover? I live here and I see Moroccan girls uncovered ALL of the time in Western Morocco. All I can say to non arab/muslim girls if you visit wear what you like as long as your in the modern cities. Arabs ONLY JUDGE OTHER ARAB/MUSLIM WOMAN. TRUST ME I AM MIDDLE EASTERN. They do not expect western woman to cover. But if an arab girl dresses in a shirt showing cleavage they will call her a s**t. It is a double standard that is not fair but it is true. Western girls can smoke in public and do as they please because the arabs here have no standards of them. A female tourist will get the SAME amount of attention if she looks white, rather she is in Hijob or a skirt if you have light skin and light eyes men will stare at them. I would also like to add @ night clubs here woman dress s**y and at the beach they wear bikinis. One can also buy alcohol right in the grocery store Marjane. It is not as traditional here as people try to perceive

Answer 1

Because you have religious Muslim women on here giving unrealistic answers.  Many of them are Westerners married to Moroccan men, so they have no clue what they are talking about or are idealistic of what Morocco should be, an Islamic state

and for those ladies, Morocco has music, prostitution, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, violence, corruption and people who do not believe in Islam, just like any other country.

So stop bull crapping tourists, considering you are costing the livelihood of millions of Moroccans when you give your fairy tale story of Morocco to tourist who find it boring and will instead go to another country.

Answer 2

Trust me, we are on the same page. But putting race aside, I think dressing "safely" will keep those prying males, both locals and tourists, away. Unless of course attention is badly needed. I'm a female and I travel, but I rather dress that will not catch everybody's attention just to be safe.

Answer 3

In your eyes it does not seem traditional but in the eyes of westerners it seems quite traditional.  You sound jealous that less is expected of others.  It seems like you don't want westerns to show up better dressed than you because then you will have your fellow Arabs saying, look at how modest she is MashaAllah and look at you, you grew up in this culture and have turned your back to it.  Maybe you are one of those women that becomes sad when she sees Arab men go for non Arab women.  

In fact, women get judged irregardless of their ethnicity.  You just get judged more harshly because they believe you should know better.  I think this is why the subject upsets you so much too. You know deep down inside that you know better but haven't done anything about it.  You want to see more women dressed like you so that you don't stand out as a 'traitor' of sorts. You want the norm to be your way of dress and mode of thinking.

Answer 4

That's really funny. I don't think people expect her to cover like a Muslim but instead to be more modest than usual. They will get far more attention for being uncovered than a local girl (and yes, she will get attention too).  At least the local girl won't get lost in her own town and knows the language and knows how to get by. A tourist does not and in that case is more vulnerable.

Before I was Muslim I would get harassed by all the N. Africans and Arabs in France while dressed 'normally' and many very white women and blond haired women have a problem with that in France and Morocco - amongst other places where it is seen as exotic.

EDIT: By the way, when I was in high school we went on a school sponsored trip to some European countries (I had already been there prior) and we were instructed to dress MORE conservatively than we do here in America - not just because we dress differently but because we are in another culture - it didn't matter that it was Christian and Western. We didn't all speak the languages, nor know the streets and know all the cultural aspects that could better help us understand situations we got into.  This should be COMMON SENSE, use your brains and reasoning when thinking about it.  This has nothing to do with religion.

If you have no shame, wear whatever you want in Morocco or any other country but if ppl harass you or treat you poorly don't come here and complain.  You made your bed, lie in it.

And AM,  some of these religious ppl you are talking about on here don't even wear hijab. Besides that, I have known many ppl that visited Morocco and have spoken with them (before and after I became Muslim). It's very rare to find somebody that was bored there.  Of course, this depends on the person and the type of trip they wanted. If they want a vacation where they just want to sit at the beach - they can do that or go to some other country with more resorts. If they want to really TRAVEL (which is different than having a vacation) they can do that in Morocco too, very easily.  Different ppl have different tastes.

As to what the questioner said about less being expected of foreigners when it comes to dress. That is true, of course, less is expected when it comes to their morals too. They are usually expected to be loose.  Sad fact, but true.

Answer 5

The same double standard that applies with religion. A Moroccan Muslim who wants to convert a western girlfriend to Islam yet pays prostitutes on the side

I've even met Moroccans claiming they're virgins when in fact they have plenty of s*x but penetration. Hypocritical expectations in a socially restrictive culture. That is all it means. The more they censor and restrict, the more they slip on the side.

Answer 6

Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country and most people there practice or follow the basic tenants of Islam.  Many see dressing in a way to attract attention as something less desirable, and dressing that way can attract a lot of unwanted attention.  I've been in the souk when a European woman walked through the crowd barely covered, and she got a lot of nasty looks from people (including other tourists).  Dressing modestly or conservatively will help lessen the unwanted comments and glances because it shows you not only respect yourself, but the country and the religious beliefs as well.

Answer 7

When in Rome do as the Romans. I Morocco- Sale i dress conservatively to respect the peopple i am staying with. I wear a djelebbba in the cold weather but cover my arms and keep my focus down when walkig through the streets.

In abat i loosen up a bit, as in Marrakech  but still dont show cleavage, nor shoulders, nor lots of jewellery. I keep modest.

my friend found in Agadir that men leered at her 13year old daughter despite being dressed conservatively and being a shy girl - its the tourists that give thebullits to fire - and th Moroccan girls who dress like some westerners - well they must be a disgrace to thei clture  but then theyve been introduced to western life as the internet, tv etc...

Answer 8

Dressing provocatively usually means you want or need attention.  It's far sexier to leave something to the imagination as my mother taught me. It's personal choice and I don't judge if someone wants to show off their body...usually I feel sorry for them.  One of my Moroccan girlfriends said that she took up smoking recently because there is a revolution in Morocco  over the past 5 years, where it's okay for women to smoke now.  She also wears tanktops now. I don't see it as a double standard. Regardless of your culture, you should respect yourself!

Answer 9

I agree there are a lot of Moroccan girls who dress very provocatively, but they do not seem to have the respect of others.  I watch people a lot.  I tend to sit back and watch what goes on.  The girls dressed with cleavage,  provoke anger in some of the older women and attract a lot of attention from the men.  Maybe these women have no confidence, and want to have validation by the men.    Maybe it is rebellion and their goal is to shock others???  Who knows their motivation.

I have seen westerners wearing mini skirts that barely cover their private parts, I have seen Moroccans stop and stare and utter comments.  I think dressing like a s**t is disrespectful to the customs of Morocco regardless of your nationality.  Morocco is becoming progressive compared to other Muslim countries, but at the end of the day, the majority of Moroccans dress conservatively.  There is not one woman in my family and circle of female friends in Morocco that dress provocatively.    

As someone who has travelled extensively around the world in many different/foreign cultures, I do not want attention.  I want to blend in.  I do not want to be a tourist.  I do not want to be disrespectful.  I do not yell in english when I am travelling abroad.  I do not dress s**y when I am in a country where the majority of people dress conservatively.  

I also think that part of being classy and having great style is dressing appropriately.  When dressing for work, one chooses clothing that is appropriate for the workplace environment.  I think the same thing goes when travelling abroad.  

And you must bear in mind that Morocco is a vastly diverse country.  Some cities are very cosmopolitan.  Some are very traditional.  

Since I am married, I hate being hassled by Moroccan men.  However, with blonde hair and green eyes, I am hassled all the time.  If I cover my head, dress conservatively and wear sunglasses, I am not hassled as much.  I also cover up out of respect for my husband.

For these reasons, I believe a lot of people suggest to dress conservatively.  It is a personal decision based upon how much you want to blend in versus stand out.

Answer 10

I think it all depends on the extremes. You can dress s**y without being S****y. (if that's the kind of attention you're looking for).

For the most part, I find it very uneducated, even in north america, for girls to walk around half naked. I think it's a lack of respect that is too accepted and should be kept for the bedroom or the beach.