The Duchess And Duke Of Sussex Shined A Light On Women And Girl’s Education In Morocco. Intrepid Travel Pledges $100 Per Women-Only Moroccan Trip
Booking For International Women’s Day.
by Heather Cassell
The girls were thrilled when Duchess Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stopped by their schools during their Morocco tour on Tuesday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met girls at two Education for All boarding houses that included a henna ceremony for the Duchess and a meeting with the charity’s founder Michael McHugo MBE.
The school that educates Moroccan girls from rural areas aims to combat the 83 percent female illiteracy rate. It’s supported through Australian-based Intrepid Travel’s The Intrepid Foundation’s
Education for All program.
“As one of the first female leaders of a travel company in a male dominated industry, I know that education is key to improving gender inequality in Morocco and I was so proud to see the royal couple highlight this cause,” said Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid’s General Manager in Morocco.
The travel company, which offers a variety of adventure, culinary, women-only, and other unique trips around the world, has raised more than $107,000 (AUD $150,000) for Education for All to-date, according to a February 26 news release from the travel company.
To celebrate the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to the organization and upcoming International Women’s Day, Intrepid is offering to donate $100 to Education For All for every traveler that books the Morocco: Women’s Expedition now until March 8.
Zina believes that the tourism industry is in a position to support Moroccan women in their fight for gender equity.
“Tourism is well placed to lobby for gender equity in Morocco. Whether it is through fundraising for projects like Education for All, teaching local women how to build a tourism business or lobbying the government to increase the number of female tour leaders, each contributes to a cultural shift in a patriarchal society,” Zina said.
The travel company’s Morocco Women’s Expedition offers experiences you can only have with local women. It also empowers widowed or divorced women without an income stream to manage small tourism businesses, such as homestays and walking tours that Intrepid Travel visits. The expedition includes stays with Berber women, visiting a female rug-weaver co-op, taking home cooking classes and experiencing a hammam with local women.
Education for All supports 192 girls at five safe boarding houses located close to secondary schools. They have access to books, computers, three meals a day, study support and the opportunity to return home to their families every weekend. Girls engaged in the program are earning grades at double the national average and beyond this, the NGO’s work has contributed to an important shift in cultural attitudes towards female education.
For more information, visit www.intrepidtravel.com/us/morocco/morocco-womens-expedition-117509.
To donate to The Intrepid Foundation’s Education for All directly and be matched dollar-for-dollar by the
Book your next Intrepid women-only vacation with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .
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