Salim Dib

Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Morocco

Title: Visualizing Gender and Inequality in Crisis: The Portrayal of Atlas Women During the Al Haouz Earthquake

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Biography

Abstract

Theoccurrence of a crisis has the potential to amplify and reflect preexistinginequalities within a society. The impact of such crises on women can varyacross different regions. This research paper aims to investigate genderrepresentation in the visual coverage of the 2023 earthquake in the Haouzregion. Data was collected from images of the earthquake published in two ofMorocco's most widely circulated Arabic newspapers: Assabah and Al Akhbar. Thestudy analyzes how gender is framed in these visuals and argues that theportrayal of gender reinforces stereotypes and cultural norms prevalent inMoroccan society. The gendered coverage of the earthquake in both newspapersoften took a simplistic approach, limiting the representation of women totraditional, gender-specific roles. While the coverage was sensitive to genderissues, depicting women as helpless victims of the disaster, it evoked sympathyfrom readers and donors, motivating them to provide immediate moral andmaterial support to those affected. However, while the media’s intent may havebeen to exploit the politics of sympathy, it inadvertently reinforced genderstereotypes.