Moroccan singer Dounia
Batma has recently drawn public attention to her relationship with her
Bahraini manager after officially announcing the date of their wedding
during a recent interview with Chada FM. Yet, Batma’s decision to marry a
man who is already married has discernibly received more harsh
criticism than congratulations and blessings from Moroccans.
While her decision to
marry whomever she pleases remains within the confines of her private
life, her consent to marry a foreign man with a family has been rendered
a national case. A segment of the Moroccan population which finds
interest in Dounia’s marriage argue that her disregard to his current
marital status is detrimental to Morocco’s image in the Arab world and
even internationally.
The main argument of
this segment of the Moroccan population is that Dounia’s approval of
being a second wife to an ostensibly rich Gulf man only reinforces the
notorious, destructive stereotypes about Moroccan women being “men
robbers.” This is also said to solidify the annihilative stereotype that
Moroccan women are only after foreign people’s wealth and influence.
Another argument
running against Dounia’s controversial decision radiates fervent
feminism. Her consent to be the second wife of a man is, according to
some Moroccans, an official reinforcement of patriarchal principles
related to marital life, in which men phallocentrically enjoy the right
to marry as many women as they please, something that is seen as
solidifying their patriarchal hegemony and superiority over the other
gender.
In light of this
argument, Dounia’s decision to marry a man who is already bound to
another woman pulls feminist struggles against patriarchy back to the
medieval ages, since her consent appears voluntary and stems out of her
own conviction. Whether Alttork had the consent of his first wife and
his little daughter, and whether Dounia has ever shown any concern for
the first wife’s rights and opinion are all details the couple maintain
undisclosed. With these details left concealed, Dounia’s relationship
with Alttork is conceived of as a “fishy” affair.
While the group of
Moroccans, be it fans of Dounia Batma or mere observers, proceed in
probing her unexpected and controversial decision putting forth
arguments like the ones above, another segment of the population seems
unmindful of her “private life”. In this camp, any criticism targeting
the private life and personal decisions of an individual also pulls
human rights struggles back to the middle ages.
The most recurrent
argument put forth by this group is that clear-cut lines have to be
drawn between the artistic life of an individual and their private one.
Blurring the lines between both spheres is nothing less but an attempt
to project one’s own beliefs and convictions on the other, which is
practically another sort of imperialism, characteristic of social
relations.
The demarcations
between consumption and morality have always ignited heated debates and
even intense disputes among people. Whether both spheres are to be
separated or kept chained together has almost become a rhetorical
question. According to some Moroccans, that people would boycott
Dounia’s artistic talent because of her personal decision is something
that appears more of a given than speculation now. When this happens,
according to representatives of this camp, people become as fatalist and
hard-line as any other extremist, uncompromising movement..
Another argument put
forth by this apparently more liberal sphere of the debate is that
rendering any individual matter a public concern is a fallacy, or
perhaps one more indirect manifestation of the persuasive power of mass
media. Dounia here is perceived of as a mere individual whose concerns
are almost invisible when compared to other concerns reflecting a vaguer
public concern. Some Moroccans argue that debating such “banality”
diverges one’s attention from other concerns, mostly social, that are
increasingly plaguing the kingdom.
Such diversion is
recognized by research that has been done in the interdisciplinary
fields of cultural and media studies as “the manipulative power of mass
media.” Rendering what is partial and particular, a general and
inclusive matter is one of the indirect repercussions of the media ‘s
tendency to blow out of proportion its coverage of certain matters.
A case in point is
when a political party deploys mediameans (public discourse) in order to
make people believe that its concerns and interests are common with
theirs. Of course, such perspective remains grossly over-simplifying
when one disregards the responsibility of the audience. The latter is
responsible for either making a fuss about an issue of little or no
significance, or critically probing whether a debate on the matter is
worthy of debating in the first place.
Other Moroccans went
further to invoke religion in this context. “Doesn’t Islam allow
polygamy for men as long as they can fairly treat their wives,” read one
of the comments on an article discussing Dounia’s controversial
decision. “Why is it a problem then that she marries a Muslim man who
apparently has the potential to treat her and his first wife equally?”
asked the anonymous commenter. According to this argument, the fact that
her future Muslim husband is already married is completely legitimate,
religiously speaking.
“You can’t accept some
of our religion (referring to Islam) and reject the rest. You either
take it all, or leave it all,” read another comment advancing the same
argument. Polygamy in Islam, which is limited to four wives, is clearly
permissible as long as the man who embarks on it is able to treat his
wives equally, a task too idealistic to be true. According to those who
raise this question in the discourse of Dounia’s marriage, opposing that
her Muslim man has another wife is automatically a questioning of Islam
and universal statements in the holy Qu’ran.
Apparently, Dounia’s
unexpected decision to marry Mohammed Alttork, who already has a wife
and a little child, has gone beyond any expectations to stir a
controversy as forked as usual debates about universal issues.
Contestable arguments from various fountains have been put forth and
supported in this context, stemming from notions and rubrics as potent
as modernity, liberalism, secularism, feminism, human rights, religion,
and so forth. One thing is sure is that her marriage is no longer part
of her private life. It is now a topic debated over at Moroccan round
tables. Finally, some would argue that Dounia is responsible for the
fuss her marriage has caused since she voluntarily made a feature of her
private life a public matter via the media.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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