Inside Morocco’s digital divide: girls fighting for education in lockdown
While the internet has kept many going through coronavirus lockdowns, the digital divide could mean that many Moroccan students will fall behind.
Set deep within the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, the village of Asni is quiet after sunset when the dry air turns bitterly cold. While the people of Asni sleep, one young woman — Ghita Moulid — remains awake.
The blue light from her old laptop illuminates her face as she diligently takes notes from the screen. The 20-year-old university student sits on the floor, huddled in blankets and rugs against the cold.
She is inside a makeshift study room, made with the help of her parents — long wooden poles prop up a patchwork mix of traditional rugs and blankets, in a home-made lean-to against the side of her house.
The lean-to is one of two areas around Moulid’s house with an internet connection. She will have to sit here — or on her roof — if she wants to access her online materials for her university studies.
