Moroccan Women Play A Dual Role

  For many Moroccan working women, the trade-off between home lives and jobs occurs at the expense of time and peace of mind. While women have acquired some freedom in the working environment, attitudes have not changed as regards the role of a woman within the family. The equality they seek has not yet been achieved on the domestic front.

  “Women have more responsibility than men. When men come home, they relax, whereas women must cook and take care of the house and children on their own. Women have gained freedom, but attitudes have not changed. Equality must come about in the home,” said bank clerk Halima B.

   Fatima M., a lawyer and Member of Parliament, said that tradition is very important and that only women themselves can change this. In her view, they must teach their children that boys and girls are equal so that the future will be different. “In Morocco, it’s still taboo for a man to help his wife with the cooking. Others take a ruthless view of this. Often, even those who help their wives with chores avoid doing so in front of other people,” she said.

   Siham M., a public-sector worker, said that the mothers of the future will face less stress since how children are being brought up is changing. As a mother of two boys and a girl, she tries to teach her children the importance of equality in the home: “I treat my sons and my daughter just the same. I involve all of them in the housework. In the future, I think my sons will help their wives.”

   Halima E., a nurse, agrees. She said that women must organize their time so that they do not fall victim to daily pressures. In her opinion, discussing this subject with their husbands should help women. “At first, my husband didn’t help me; I had to do everything myself,” she said. “When I talked over with him, I persuaded him to get more involved around the house for the happiness of our family.”

COMPREHENSION:  (7 points)

A. ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY. 

1. Morocco’s working wives see progress on the job front but little change at home. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. For Fatima, a man enjoys helping their wives with housework. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

B. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. 

1. What does the writer mean by “dual role”? 

      …………………………………………………….

2. Why is Siham optimistic about the future?

…………………………………………………….

3. Does Halima E.’s husband help her at home? Explain. 

…………………………………………….

C. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO? 

1. This (paragaraph 3) 

………………………………………………….

2. them ( paragraph 4)

………………………………………………….

D. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS: 

1. pressure (paragraph 4)

………………………………………………….

2. convinced  (paragraph 5)

………………………………………………….

LANGUAGE:  (7 points)

A. MATCH THE WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER TO MAKE APPROPRIATE  COLLOCATIONS.

B. FILL IN EACH GAP WITH AN APPROPRIATE PHRASAL VERB FROM THE LIST.

  break into – check in – hand out – let down – take back 

1. When you arrive at the hotel, don’t forget to ———— ——- at the registration desk.

2. This book is due tomorrow. I guess I should ———— it ——- to the library.

3. What’s the total of those bills? Could you ———— them ——- and see?

4. I know I ———— you ——- when I didn’t do what I promised. I am really sorry.

C. REWRITE THE SENTENCES AS INDICATED. 

1.  “Tradition is of great importance.”, she said.

She said that……………………………………………………………………….

2.  “Why didn’t Brian come to the party yesterday?”,  they wanted to know.

They wanted to know ………………………………………………………………

D. PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE.

Mrs. Assadi (start)……………………… her job as an air hostess in 1990. Since then, she (visit)……………….   a lot of countries. By the end of this year, she (work) ………………… for twenty years.

E. WHAT DOES EACH SENTENCE EXPRESS? 

WRITING (6 points)

The topic will be added later.