Taroudant - The Moroccan Network for the Defense of Men's Rights has said sexual harassment of men by women is a problem in Morocco.

Taroudant – The Moroccan Network for the Defense of Men’s Rights has said sexual harassment of men by women is a problem in Morocco.

The men’s rights group claimed that sexual harassment by women, especially female superiors at the workplace, is also a pertinent problem that men have to deal with in their place of work.

“There are many instances where women hit on men, which our group monitors,” said Abdel-Fattah Bahjaji, head of the group.

Bahjaji said that women also direct some harassing expressions at men like “Hey handsome, what pretty eyes you have!”

“You are like a gazelle walking the earth!”

The head of the men’s right group said that most cases involve women making unsolicited passes at their male subordinates at work and when men resist their bosses’ overtures, they face harassment or sacking.

However, the Moroccan sociologist Mariam al-Rabihi downplayed the allegations, saying that this kind of harassment is not frequent enough to call it an issue.

“Harassment of men by women exists for sure, but we cannot call it a phenomenon,” she told The New Arab.

“Moroccan society is no longer an insular society. There have been profound transformations in the way the two sexes communicate,” she added.

Mourad, a victim of sexual harassment by a woman, told The New Arab that his boss at an insurance firm he previously worked for was staring at him and calling him “Bogoss” (handsome) repeatedly until it became a nuisance.

He said that “each time she entered my office she would stare at me and call me Bogoss (handsome),” adding that he avoided saying anything in order to keep his job.

In March, the government introduced a draft law that punishes sexual harassment with up to six months in prison.

According to the draft bill, sexual harassment includes unsolicited acts, statements, or signals of a sexual nature, which are delivered in person, online, or via telephone.