2022年经济学人 摩洛哥竟然这么保守

Middle East&Africa

中东及非洲版块

Prudery in Morocco

摩洛哥的谈性色变

Get two rooms

订两个房间

Hoteliers are backing Moroccans who want to legalise sex before marriage

酒店经营者支持摩洛哥人婚前性行为合法化

IT IS BAD enough that the pandemic cut the number of foreign tourists by 80%; to make matters even worse, Morocco's ban on extramarital sex is stifling¹ the domestic market in hotel beds.

疫情的蔓延使外国游客减少了80%，这已经够糟糕的了；更糟糕的是，摩洛哥对婚外性行为的禁令正在扼杀国内酒店市场。

Unmarried couples caught in the same room are liable to jail terms of up to a year under Article 490 of the penal² code.

根据《刑法》第490条，未婚夫妇同处一室，最高可判一年监禁。

Each week the police check hotel records to uphold the law.

警方每周都会检查酒店记录以维护法律。

Receptionists-turned-private detectives require verification of marriage certificates before handing over the keys.

酒店前台变成了私家侦探，他们在交钥匙前要求核实结婚证。

"I get more calls from unmarried couples wanting to stay than anyone else," says Meryem Zniber, who runs a resort in the Rif mountains. "I could fill my hotel 100% if only they'd lift the law."

梅里姆·兹尼伯在里夫山经营着一家度假酒店，他说：“我接到的想要住下来的未婚夫妇的电话比任何人都多。只要他们解除法律，我的酒店一定可以爆满。”

Hopes of change rose after the Islamist party heading the government crashed in elections in September, losing 90% of its seats.

9月，执政的伊斯兰党派在选举中失败，失去了90%的席位，改变的希望随之增加。

For a decade its leaders had squelched³ any policy deemed haram, or contrary to Islamic law.

十年来，其领导人一直压制任何被视为违反伊斯兰法律的行为。

Aziz Akhannouch, the new prime minister, sounds more liberal.

新总理阿齐兹·阿克汉努奇听起来更开明。

His government recently said it would review the entire penal code.

他的政府最近表示将重新审查整个刑法。

But he has left out of his coalition⁴ the only party that publicly calls for Article 490 to be repealed⁵.

但他把唯一一个公开要求废除第490条的政党排除在外。

The interior ministry⁶ is a big obstacle.

内政部是一大障碍。

"They fear turning hotels into brothels," says a former minister.

一位前部长说：“他们害怕旅馆会变成妓院。”

Others say the main concern is pecuniary⁷: officials do not want to lose the bribes⁸ they extort⁹ from hotels and unmarried couples who canoodle in them.

另一些人说，主要金钱上的问题：官员们不想失去他们从酒店和未婚夫妇那里索要的贿赂。

Travel websites suggest workarounds.

旅游网站上有人建议一些解决办法。

One proposes donning a wedding ring. "The offer of an additional payment may carry some weight," it adds.

有人提议戴结婚戒指。又补充道：“额外付款的提议可能会带来一些影响。”

Another suggests "the two-room method: rent single rooms, then scurry¹⁰ across the corridor after dark".

另一个建议是“两室法：租单人房，天黑后再匆匆穿过走廊”。

But others have tired of the expense and the hypocrisy¹¹.

但也有些人已经厌倦了这种花费和虚伪。

Hashtag campaigns —"Love is not a Crime" and "Stop490"—proliferate online.

“#爱情无罪”和“#Stop490”等话题在网上疯狂传播。

Conservatives urge young Moroccans to respect tradition.

保守派敦促摩洛哥的年轻人尊重传统。

Youngsters retort that the precursor¹² to Article 490 was introduced by France in 1953, near the end of the colonial era.

年轻人反驳说，第490条的前身是1953年法国在殖民时代末期引入的。

And they point to other Muslim countries that are shaking off old mores¹³.

他们还指出，其他穆斯林国家正在摆脱旧习俗。

The United Arab Emirates decriminalised extramarital sex a year ago.

一年前，阿拉伯联合酋长国将婚外性行为合法化。

Saudis say their hotels have stopped asking couples to show marriage certificates.

沙特人说，他们的酒店已经不再要求夫妇出示结婚证书。

Morocco's latest hashtag campaign implores¹⁴ "Vote4Love".

摩洛哥最新的话题运动要求“#为爱投票”。

1 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

2 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

3 squelched   

v.发吧唧声，发扑哧声( squelch的过去式和过去分词 )；制止；压制；遏制

参考例句：

• We squelched over the soggy ground. 我们咕唧咕唧地走过泥泞的土地。
• The mud squelched as I walked through it. 我扑哧扑哧地穿过泥泞。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 pecuniary   

adj.金钱的；金钱上的

参考例句：

• She denies obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.她否认通过欺骗手段获得经济利益。
• She is so independent that she refused all pecuniary aid.她很独立，所以拒绝一切金钱上的资助。

8 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

9 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

10 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

11 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

12 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

13 mores   

n.风俗，习惯，民德，道德观念

参考例句：

• The mores of that village are hard to believe.那村子的习俗让人难以置信。
• We advocate a harmonious society where corruption is swept away,and social mores are cleared.我们提倡弊绝风清，建设一个和谐社会。

14 implores   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every movie we see, every story we are told implores us to wait for it. 我们看的每一部电影，听的每一个故事都恳求着我们驻足等待。
• Every movie we see, every story we're told implores is to wait for it. 我们看的每场电影，听过的每个故事都告诉我们要耐心等待。