Prominent Moroccan feminist and human rights activist, Ibtissame Lachgar, has been taken into custody after posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Allah is a lesbian” — a move that has sparked outrage, death threats, and heated debate in the country.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rabat confirmed on Sunday that she is being investigated for “phrases offensive to the divine” and “insulting Islam.” Authorities said her detention was ordered due to the urgency of the matter.
The photo, shared on July 31, shows Lachgar smiling with her hands on her hips. The co-founder of the Mouvement alternatif pour les libertés individuelles (MALI), she is known for advocating abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and broader individual freedoms.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lachgar said her T-shirt had triggered “thousands of sexist insults, rape and death threats, and calls for stoning” over three days — most from men. Defending her actions, she described Islam as “fascist, phallocratic, and misogynistic” and accused her critics of “sanctimoniousness.”
Her comments ignited fierce backlash. One social media user urged others to circulate her photo widely, calling her “a threat to peace” and demanding her imprisonment. Under Moroccan law, defaming Islam, the monarchy, or the country’s territorial integrity can carry prison sentences.
Lachgar has a long history of provocative activism, including organising a 2013 “kiss-in” outside parliament to protest the arrest of teenagers who shared a kissing photo online, and leading a 2012 effort to bring an abortion-providing ship to Moroccan shores.
Her arrest has reignited Morocco’s ongoing debate over freedom of speech, secularism, and the limits of religious criticism — with the country now sharply divided between those defending her right to express herself and those demanding punishment.
