Protests in Rabat, Morocco, February 2011. Photograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/AP

On Thursday morning twelve student journalists from the U.S greeted me with great enthusiasm — they had witnessed their first news story in Morocco.  The night before, hundreds of young Moroccans, protesting the lack of jobs for university graduates here, surged along the grand avenue in front of the Moroccan Parliament,  eventually chased away by police.  (In Morocco, unemployment is 16 percent for university graduates,  above the national average.)

These protests have escalated since what in Morocco is called the “February 20^th Movement”  –the milder Moroccan version of Arab Spring.   Moroccans haven’t overthrown the monarch  —  in addition to their respect for the king, many Moroccans also seem to fear the disruption brought in other Arab Spring countries.  The king has instituted some  reforms such as, for the first time, the judiciary is now supposed to be an independent branch of government. Late last year Morocco held the first elections to Parliament under the new, slightly more progressive Constitution (a moderate Islamic party won but the King still holds ultimate  power here).

I’m proud of our students – they came away from the protest with contact information for student demonstrators and will follow up on this story, seeking to understand these protests that have been going on in one way or another for years.  I’ve heard Moroccans call their young protestors the original “Occupy” movement.  Who better than twelve very determined young American journalism students to understand and explore the motivations and challenges of young Moroccans?

“I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, Morocco…” thus begins Fatma Mernissi’s stereotype-busting account of her remarkable childhood.  Mernissi is a renowned Moroccan feminist and academic — her book has long been a favorite of mine.  Now I am in Morocco,  six days into what will be a four month stay, leading a journalism program which will pair American college students with Moroccan students at the University of Mohammad V to jointly report on a country where, just this week, three young college graduates set themselves on fire to protest the lack of jobs.

I’ve rented a house in the heart of Rabat’s 14^th century Medina, not unlike the one Mernissi grew up in (though, in the case of my house, its former grandeur has faded, as the Medina went from a bourgeois neighborhood to one that’s mostly middle or lower middle class).  That said, the gorgeous tile and plaster are intact along with the house’s prison-like qualities, designed to keep women sequestered from the public sphere.  It is disconcerting to be in a house without windows.  There’s a lovely rooftop but with high walls preventing a view of the street.  From the roof one sees the sky and the occasional satellite dish and mosque minaret.

Still, I am reminded that Mernessi’s book reveals a rich world on the roof, ruled by women, which created a remarkable sisterhood.  Perhaps it was that sisterhood we saw on the streets of Rabat this week, protesting the lack of women in Morocco’s new parliament.

Center for Cross-Cultural Learning in Rabat, Morocco

When I blog next it will be from the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning in the heart of the Medina in Rabat, Morocco.  This famed center, founded and directed by influential Moroccan academics, is the base for our collaboration with SIT Study Abroad.  CCCL is a center for cultural and educational activities on Moroccan society and Arab and Islamic cultures. This is a ground-breaking opportunity for students interested in global journalism, of course, but also a valuable resource for me and Round Earth Media, as we report, for the first time, from North Africa.   Stay tuned!