Slamming the “Continuing” Moroccan Revolution: Noussayba Lahlou's Bittersweet Verses

Abstract

AbstractIn this article, I am interested in looking at women's current mobilization techniques in Post-Arab Spring North Africa. To do so, I draw from the existing literature on the case of Egypt which identifies women's contemporary resistance in creative disobedience patterns – that is women's art activism that advocates, concomitantly, for social justice and gender equality. In my attempt to fill an existing gap in the literature, I investigate the existence of such resistance patterns in Morocco, as well as their main characteristics and country specificities. Because (slam) poetry is a traditionally resistant genre in the Arab region, I take as a case study Noussayba Lahlou's slam poetry to explore the political potential of women's slams to advocate for women's rights and sociopolitical liberties in post-Arab Spring Morocco. To do so, I conducted a virtual interview with the artist by administering a structured online questionnaire, alongside a content analysis of eight of her most recent and salient slams. A 24-years-old slam poet from Morocco, Noussayba's revolutionary verses tackle widespread regime abuse and corruption, alongside women's rights and many other social woes in the country.