Who gets to speak for us? Legitimacy of queer activism in Morocco

Sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) advocates in Morocco operate within a restrictive socio-legal environment where formal recognition remains inaccessible and public visibility carries significant risk. Drawing on a mixed-methods study that includes a survey of 55 queer individuals alongside five qualitative interviews, this research analyses how activists conceptualise and enact legitimacy within a context marked by legal criminalisation, donor dependency, and fragmented community infrastructures. The combined methods illuminate the different ways LGBTQI + activists and SOGIE advocacy groups construct, negotiate, and sustain legitimacy in Morocco. The findings demonstrate that legitimacy is not derived from formal institutional recognition but from three interrelated processes: (1) navigating legal precarity through strategic ambiguity and alliances, (2) responding to internal critiques concerning class, regional, and gender representation, and (3) engaging in community-driven organising that builds trust and resilience. Foregrounding these strategies provides a deeper understanding of how LGBTQI + movements in Morocco maintain advocacy under repressive conditions. It reveals the dual function of legitimacy as both a protective architecture and a generative site of political agency.