MixedThe Financial Times (UK)It is difficult to argue with the facts presented in Sex and Lies — women, in large parts of the world, including Morocco, are deprived of sexual rights and ownership over their bodies. It is problematic, however, that Slimani makes hypocrisy a centrepiece of her argument, which rests on disputable generalisations ... Hypocrisy and sex have long been intertwined, not only in Morocco. In the west, the #MeToo campaign has exposed horrific tales of sexual assault by powerful men and of social complicity that guaranteed them years of impunity ... It is remarkable that Slimani avoids any exploration of the role of the Moroccan authorities in perpetuating the inequalities she abhors— even as she writes about the case of Hajar Raissouni, a young journalist who was arrested along with her fiancé as she left her doctor’s office...This is in keeping with the book as a whole, which does not lack for passion and which raises legitimate questions — yet is nonetheless weakened by a narrow focus that often neglects context, history and politics. The result is a culturalist reading of Morocco that has little to say about how women’s freedoms can be enhanced. That is a shame as it is a subject that deserves real examination.
