ISPJ 2
Shredding the Patriarchy
Meryem el Gardoum, 20, won the Agadir Open at Devil’s Rock, a beach just south of the burgeoning surf tourism hub of Taghazout. When el Gardoum first learned how to surf at this beach as an 11-year-old, she said the only surf supplies available to the local children were two body boards a local fisherman kept outside his hut. While the advent of local surf associations has made equipment more available, financial obstacles remain a challenge for most Moroccans interested in the sport. Still, el Gardoum says the most passionate will find a way to ride. “Normally, this sport, it's for rich people--but we fell in love with it now and we can't stop it,” she said.
Fatima Zahra Berrada (38) is the three-time Moroccan women’s surfing champion and has won the Moroccan women’s bodyboarding championship every year since 2005. She was also the only Moroccan woman who competed in the 2016 Roxy Pro Casablanca last September, making her the first female Moroccan surfer to have participated in a World Surf League event.
Lilias Tebbai (right), 12, cheers on fellow competitor Hiba Achir, 14, during the competition’s bodyboarding final.
Four-time Moroccan surf champion Meryem el Gardoum is flocked by local reporters and television crew after winning the Agadir Open in 2017, the first time the competition had a women's division in history.
Leila Achir (left), 39, picked up body boarding after her daughter, Hiba Achier (right), 14, took up body boarding when Leila's mother gave her surfing lessons for her birthday six years ago.