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On January 9, 2020, the Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women鈥檚 Freedom was awarded to AUP alumna Sonia Terrab G鈥�11, along with writer Leila Slimani and poet Karima Nadir; they accepted the prize on behalf of the Collective 490 hors-la-loi, or Outlaws Collective 490, a group of women and men claiming sexual freedom in Morocco. The award ceremony took place at the Maison de l鈥橝m茅rique Latine in Paris.

The Simone de Beauvoir Prize was founded in 2008 by Julia Kristeva, a Bulgarian-French philosopher and novelist, to mark what would have been de Beauvoir鈥檚 100th birthday. The prize honors individuals and institutions that defend women鈥檚 freedom. Past winners have included Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and youngest-ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and Giusi Nicolini, a former mayor of Lampedusa, Italy, who worked to protect the rights of migrants in the Mediterranean.

Sonia Terrab is a Moroccan film director, novelist and journalist 鈥� and a graduate of AUP鈥檚 MA in Global Communications. She established the Outlaws Collective 490 with Leila Slimani, the Prix Goncourt鈥搘inning Franco-Moroccan author. The collective aims to protect the rights of Moroccan citizens by opposing Article 490 of the Moroccan criminal code, which criminalizes extramarital sex.

鈥淚n Morocco you can go to jail because you are in love,鈥� says Terrab. According to the collective, in 2018 alone, 14,503 people were accused of having extramarital sex, 3,048 for adultery and 170 for homosexuality. What鈥檚 more, as Terrab notes, abortion is illegal, which is something the outlaws are also campaigning to change. It is estimated that between 600 and 800 clandestine abortions take place in Morocco every day.

The collective unveiled its manifesto, originally signed by a group of 490 women and men, which denounced the law and proclaimed that the signatories themselves had broken it. The manifesto was in part a response to the arrest of Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni on August 31, 2019. Raissouni was arrested for having had an 鈥渋llegal abortion鈥� and 鈥渆xtramarital sexual relations,鈥� before being freed that October. 鈥淚t was revolting for us as women to think that something like this could happen,鈥� says Terrab. 鈥淲e felt the need to denounce the arrest and state our anger.鈥�

By revealing their identities, the signatories declare themselves to be outlaws and publicly assume a sexual freedom denied to Moroccan citizens by law. 鈥淲e wanted to talk about this important issue and raise a national debate,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲e have so many testimonies from young people who have suffered because of these laws. A lot of women are speaking up and saying this is a problem.鈥� The manifesto has today over 15,000 signatures, and over 70% of the accompanying testimonials come from 18- to 25-year-olds.

The collective has now presented its petition to Moroccan parliament. 鈥淲e are trying to use the tools we have as citizens to change this law,鈥� explains Terrab. A new campaign, 鈥淟ove Is Not a Crime,鈥� was launched in December 2019, seeking to repeal what the collective refers to as 鈥渞epressive laws relative to love.鈥�

As well as her work with the collective, Terrab has published two novels, Shamablanca in 2011 and The Revolution Did Not Happen in 2015. Her 2016 documentary film, Shakespeare in Casablanca, profiles a Casablanca-based theater troupe preparing a performance of A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream while discussing definitions of love with the city鈥檚 residents. Her web series, Marokkiates, gives Moroccan women a platform to voice their uncensored views about their daily lives and experiences.