Laila Moghrabi
Fighting for Native American rights, poetic justice and Mali’s women
Laila Moghrabi - Libya
لا أدري متى يمكنني العودة إلى بلدي، لكنني مع ذلك لن أتخلى عن مبادئي، ومستمرة في العمل الثقافي ودعم حرية التعبير والإبداع، والدفاع عن حقوق الانسان في أن يعيش آمناً في بلده، رغم ما أمر به من مصاعب ومعاناة عائلتي الصغيرة بسببي
Laila Moghrabi is a journalist, photographer, filmmaker and editor in Libya. In 2013, Laila helped establish a group called Tanweer which launched a used books festival. Members of the group quickly began receiving threats from Islamic extremists and Laila decided to take a break from writing. However, in 2016, she edited a collection of essays and poetry which included work from prominent Libyan literary critics. The collection, entitled Sun on Closed Windows, was condemned by the Libyan authorities as being immoral while a passage of the book with sexual content was photographed and shared by Islamic extremists.
While conflict in Libya remains the main source of risk and insecurity for HRDs, human rights activism is also constrained by limitations on freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression. Despite some efforts to incorporate legal reforms, the legal framework applicable to civil society organisations remains uncertain. NGOs have been allowed to form and operate, however a comprehensive NGO law has not been adopted and certain restrictive pieces of legislation from the Qaddafi era remain in force.
