Soraya El Kahlaoui

Soraya is currently a doctoral candidate in sociology at L'École des hautes études en sciences sociale (EHESS) in Paris. Her research analyzes the reclaiming of public space and the forms it has taken in Morocco since 2011. More specifically, her research consists of a political analysis of the practices of space appropriation and other forms of resistance led by inhabitants fighting for occupation rights. In parallel to her research she is an activist for the right to space (including the right to resources, land, and housing). It is in this activist context that she met the outcast inhabitants of Guich L’Oudaya, an area of informal housing in the Moroccan capital city of Rabat. Since March 2013, she has worked to raise awareness of the plight of these residents with both militant groups, and the media.