Border Closure Exacerbates Plight of Female Mules Between Spain and Morocco

The APDHA questions the conditions of female mules since Morocco closed its borders in December 2019. In this report entitled "Mules: the feminization of poverty", it denounces the deterioration of the living conditions of these women due to the physical and psychological violence they have suffered from Spain and Morocco for years and, in particular, since the closure of the borders.

According to the organization, thousands of female mules "are victims of humiliation, abuse, degrading treatment and even sexual harassment by the law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border", and feel totally abandoned by the Moroccan and Spanish administrations. "These women are stigmatized, undervalued, and are not considered as workers," laments the APDHA, which also denounces the inaction of the authorities who have left them to their fate without ever taking measures such as the mandatory use of carts or the limitation of schedules to improve their conditions.

The organization also points out that the work of female mules brings in huge resources to the local coffers of the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and benefits merchants, Moroccan customers, the goods distribution network, etc.

The report is the result of more than nine years of study on the situation of female mules at the Moroccan border with Ceuta, and complements the report presented in 2016 by the APDHA.