Leïla Slimani and the Revelation of Moroccan Women’s Voices through Sexe et mensonges (2017)

Abstract

Leïla Slimani, a Franco-Moroccan writer, explores the lived realities of women in her book Sexe et mensonges (2017), a work of literary reportage based on testimonies of Moroccan women about their sexuality. Drawing on intimate narratives, the book highlights the double life many women are forced to lead, hiding behind a façade that conforms to patriarchal norms while secretly asserting forms of rebellion and everyday resistance. By addressing taboo topics such as sexuality, the representation of the female body and the constraints imposed by family, law and social morality, the text offers a bold account of the contradictions of contemporary Moroccan society. Slimani criticises in particular the laws that criminalise sexual relations outside marriage and restrict access to abortion, underlining how women’s bodies belong more to society than to the women themselves. In this sense, the book raises crucial questions about women’s place in the public sphere and about the strategies of resistance they develop in the face of patriarchy, thus contributing to ongoing debates on feminism, emancipation and sexual rights in the Moroccan context.