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Medicinal Plants and the Role of Women in Their Use in Traditional Medicine in Kenitra City, Morocco

. Saad Ilham, Methal Aouatif, Leghlibi Hajar, Douira Allal and Fadli Mohamed


Abstract

Moroccos richness and diversity of medicinal herbs have contributed to the development of traditional medicine over the decades. Thus, the heritage of knowledge in traditional herbal medicine developed in parallel. However, this heritage knowledge is often passed down from one generation to the next orally. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of women in preserving this knowledge and passing it on from generation to generation in the city of Kenitra, Morocco. To achieve the set goals, we developed a questionnaire that was sent to a sample of 200 people taken at random, from the balanced sex quota. The difference in the importance of knowledge between women and men and the origin of this knowledge for the user was determined. The results showed that this knowledge of using the such-and-such plant for such-and-such disease can reach the plant user by different means (Father, Mother, Husband, Wife, Relatives, etc.). However, 37% of this knowledge passes through the "woman-man" path and 63% through the "woman-woman" path. Thus, the woman is the important driver of infection transmission, and therefore she is well acquainted with traditional medicine. Therefore, it plays a major role in preserving this heritage.

Keywords: Women, Traditional medicine, Medicinal plants, Knowledge, Transmission, Preservation.

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