leading us is hafida, morocco‘s first female mountain guide.ery much a pioneer of the time. how old is this place? we don't really know the age, but it is probably 11th century. wow. so, we havejust stopped for some mint tea in this castle—like building. that's our host. 80% of women here cannot read and earn very little, but a rise in these women—only tours are starting to provide an income for those who can host us on their own terms, without men present. the henna is notjust for beauty. these people work very hard, and if you know, henna is antiseptic. to have women in the expedition, and to have women hiking and helping other women, i love this idea, to have the women coming in from far away, western women, to share the life of the berber women. in honour of our arrival, some of the locals are throwing us a party. but there's one rule. the berber women often gather in the evenings to sing, dance and chat. they don't always dress up in their traditional outfits, but they wanted us to have the full experience, and they have kindly lent us the

leading us is hafida, morocco's first female mountain guide. she qualified 25 years ago.n the expedition and to have women hiking and helping other women, i love this idea, to have the new women coming in from far away, western women, to share in the life of the berber women. in honour of our arrival, some of the locals are throwing us a party. but there's one rule. no men. the berber women often gather in the evenings to sing, dance and chat. they don't always dress up in their traditional outfits, but they wanted us to have little experience, and they have kindly but they wanted us to have the full experience, and they have kindly lent us their clothes. i am actually wearing someone's bridal dress. so i've been wedged in the middle. and apparently the male musicians don't count as men, so it's also considered above board. so it's all still considered above board. i catch up with zina. she has long been an advocate for women's rights in morocco and worked hard to launch these women only tours. zina, what do women get out of this rather than joining a regular mixed group?

leading us is hafida, morocco's first female mountain guide.g other women, i love this idea, to have the women coming in from far away, western women, to share the life of the berber women. in honour of our arrival, some of the locals are throwing us a party. but there's one rule. the berber women often gather in the evenings to sing, dance and chat. they don't always dress up in their traditional outfits, but they wanted us to have the full experience, and they have kindly lent us their clothes. i'm actually wearing someone's bridal dress. so i've been wedged in the middle. oh, and apparently the male musicians don't count as men, so it's all still considered above—board. i think this might be my wedding. i catch up with zina. she has long been an advocate for women's rights in morocco, and has pushed hard to launch these women's only tours. zina, so what do women get out of this, rather than joining a regular mixed group? in a country like morocco, where especially in places that are a bit conservative, like here, it's really hard to be able