Moroccan women evoke nostalgia for traditional Hayek dress

On the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, women in the historical Moroccan city of Tangiers went out wearing the traditional “Hayek” dress in a bid to revive their cultural heritage.

The Hayek is a white garment (cloak) that women in the Maghreb region wrap themselves in to cover their bodies, along with another small piece of fabric that covers the face. It is originally a traditional Andalusian dress that women wore when leaving their houses for travel.

Moroccan ladies in Hayek protest to revive their traditional dress- Photo from the Molat Al Hayek organization.

According to the “Encyclopedia of National Dress: Traditional Clothing around the World” [page 502], the Hayek is made of a large piece of cloth about 1.8 meters in width and 5 meters in length. Common in rural areas, it is pinned on a woman’s shoulders and then wrapped around her body. Besides the Hayek, women also wear charms around their necks, believing that these charms can drive out bad luck, according to “Cultures of the World: Algeria” [page 80].

“The idea of the revival of Moroccan heritage existed for a long time, and I found it was a good opportunity to revive it,” Khadija Al-Taheri, an organizer of the event and member of Molat Al Hayek organization, told Jusoor Post.

Al-Taheri added that her grandmother used to wear the Hayek in the past until her death at the age of 102. “ I wanted through this demonstration to show how the traditional dress was 70-100 years ago. It was a symbol of decency and a symbol of modesty,” she said.

She said that although her idea was seen as “trivial” by some people at the beginning, a large number of people and residents of Tangiers voiced their happiness when they saw a large number of women wearing the Hayek, and they thanked the organizers and the demonstrators for evoking nostalgia for the past when their mothers and grandmothers used to wear it. 

“The Hayek is not only a Moroccan tradition dress, but it was worn by old women in all Maghreb countries,” said Al-Taheri in response to some Algerian women who said that the Hayek is an Algerian tradition as well.