Let’s put our petty complaints aside for a second and see what happens over in the mountains of Morocco. As men try to find work in the big cities of Morocco, women must take over the heavy labor.
Every day after lunch, the women of the village walk down a steep rocky path to the valley. They work the fields, herd the cattle, do the laundry by the river and gather wood for the fire. Even before lunch they are probably doing household chores and taking care of children.
At the end of the day they gather the wood or crops into bundles which they hoist onto their shoulders and carry back up to the village. Then they start preparing dinner and beginning their chores for the evening.
In many countries around the world, urbanization has disrupted traditional ways of life and culture as rural people scramble to the cities for employment. In this mountainous region, the women take care of pretty much everything. That includes the carrying of very heavy loads. Whenever you see a bundle of wood or hay being transported by a human here, it’s women’s legs carrying it.
“It is a tough life, but it is what it is”, says one of the women of the village. “This is the life of the mountains. It’s good, but we also don’t really have a choice.”