Trolleys bring relief for ‘mule women’
CEUTA, Spain — It’s a form of hard labor that has provoked an outcry — Moroccan women bent double, overburdened by goods approaching or exceeding their own body weight.
For years, thousands of such porters have crossed the border every day into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave perched on the northernmost tip of Morocco.
But now an initiative aims to ease the burden by encouraging the women — who are paid to exploit an anomaly in Moroccan law that exempts items carried by pedestrians from duties — to use trolleys.
“It’s less trying than before,” said Najat, one of the porters whose backbreaking work has earned them the nickname “mujeres mulas” (mule women) in Spanish.
“It’s a good thing, especially for those with health problems,” added the mother of two, whose husband is unemployed.
For the past five years, Najat has been entering the Spanish enclave twice a week, arriving back several grueling hours later with bundles of goods.
She makes around 20 euros ($25) for each round trip, delivering the items to merchants; approximately the same cost as her new trolley.
While goods brought by vehicle from the European Union are subject to import duties at the Moroccan border, items taken on foot are exempt.
Under pressure from NGOs following a string of incidents, including deaths, traders and authorities in Ceuta launched the trolley initiative this month, to complement a raft of other reforms.
At dawn, a group of 100 women were the first to cross the frontier to a commercial zone just inside the Spanish enclave. The zone was built in 2004 to reduce congestion in the center of Ceuta.
Metal hangars house an array of merchandise: clothes imported from China, cleaning products, basic foodstuffs and decorative items.
‘Belongs to past’
Other reforms include a daily limit on the number of porters crossing the border and alternating days for men and women.
At least four women porters were trampled to death last year, in stampedes at the border post — the only land frontier between the EU and Africa.
Private security agents have been employed in the commercial zone, paid by local traders and the authorities in Ceuta.
“We will not see any more shameful images on TV,” said a security guard, who helps ensure the porters queue for their turn in an orderly manner.
He described the efforts by authorities as “a step” forward for human rights.
“All that belongs to the past,” he said.
But he believes more should be done to help the women. “Now we must reduce the weight of the parcels.”
The exploitation of porters “began in the early 2000s and hasn’t stopped growing since then”, said Mohamed Benaissa, president of the Morocco-based Northern Observatory for Human Rights.