370

Tone Sommerfelt (ed.)

Domestic Child Labour in Morocco

An analysis of the parties involved in relationships to “Petites Bonnes”

ISBN 82-7422-352-7
2001 82 p NOK 182,- Order no: 370 Order

Web edition (pdf 427k) * Arabic web edition * (pdf 498k) Publikasjoner om samme emne

Many of the maids who work in households in Moroccan cities and town are young girls. This report is an analysis of the phenomenon of “small maids”, or “petites bonnes”, in Morocco, in a child labour perspective. Drawing on survey data, and anthropological and qualitative research techniques, the report describes the extent, social organisation, and economic contexts of child domestic labour in Morocco. By focusing on the views and opportunity situations of parents, employers, middlemen, and young girls themselves, the social relationships that shape the living- and working conditions of “small maids” are analysed. In a final chapter, possible interventions in these relationships are assessed.

The report is the outcome of a study funded by Save the Children-UK.

Contents

1 Introduction
Background
Focus and Approaches
Sources of Data and Research Techniques
A Social Organisation of Petites Bonnes
Chapter by Chapter

2 The Demography of Petites Bonnes in Morocco
Petite Bonnes and the Census Data
A Note on Education
The Demographic Dynamics of Petites Bonnes

3 Petites Bonnes and Their Parents: Experiences and Motivational Factors
Methodology
What is a Petite Bonne?
Petites Bonnes: A Brief Profile
Parents’ Decisions, Girls’ Manoeuvres
“Like a fire in the heart”: Parents of Petites Bonnes
How Girls are Recruited: Middlemen and Samsar(a)s
A Brief Comment on Experiences by Employers
In Conclusion: Acts and Responses by Employers, Parents, and Girls

4 Conclusions and Consequences
Altering Opportunities of Parents, Employers and Girls

Appendix: The Principal Laws and Rules