Morocco has developed a reputation as a premier surfing destination in recent years due to its 3,600-kilometer coastline. Long dominated by men, the sport has gradually opened to women, particularly in the last five years.
In an article originally published in early August in VICE Belgium, Paris-based journalism student Emma Larbi profiles several Moroccan female surfers, and interviews Chadi Lahrioui, a surfing champion of Morocco and Africa and the manager of a surf club on Oudayas Beach. Lahrioui gives much credit to Instagram posts and videos showing foreign and local women surfing for popularizing the support among Moroccan young women.
The article mentions Zainab Rabaa, a swimmer and football player, who commented that she “got hooked” the first time she tried surfing and now trains weekly with the group of regular surfers at the Oudayas beach club.
Even though the sport is growing in popularity among women, these same women still face obstacles even entering the beach environment in Morocco. They “meet hostile people” if they go in a fully female group, but Rabaa says, “If I go with a guy, everything is fine.” Additionally, many female surfers must negotiate family dynamics when it comes to participating in the sport – families are still concerned that surfing and any water sport is too dangerous for women. Parents especially are also cautious about letting their daughters travel around Moroccan independently.
Larbi also profiles Ines Tebbai, a 17-year-old rising star in Morocco’s surfing community, and her older sister, Lilias. The younger Tebbai has already represented Morocco in Moroccan, European, and African competitions, and the elder Tebbai is one of the three female Moroccan surfers competing internationally.
Larbi also outlines challenges faced by female surfers related to social and economic costs: globally, and in Morocco, the sport is rarely affordable at the amateur level. A new surfboard in Morocco can cost upwards of 5,000 MAD, and there are also additional costs related to wetsuits, surfboard wax, jointing surf clubs, and travel, among others. In a country where the minimum wage is less than 3,000 MAD per month, the costs can be prohibitive.
The surfers outline in the article how the most motivated amateur surfers in Morocco manage to find a way to receive support from the community. Surfers use old or damaged boards, they share wetsuits, or get new or used equipment on a payment plan.
The locations of the best surf beaches in the northern parts of Morocco – Rabat, Casablanca, Mehdia, and Oualidia – are often prohibitive for anyone living in other parts of the country.
Larbi added that although women in cities like Rabat are increasingly interested in surfing, the sport remains almost exclusively male, as surfing is still a very niche subculture in Morocco, where sports like football, handball, athletics, and basketball are much more popular.