Moroccan Photographer Zineb Koutten Captures the Hijabi Experience in Paris

Time and again, the world has witnessed the relentless targeting of the headscarf, worn as an expression of religious piety, subjected to undue scrutiny. This personal choice, aimed at upholding one’s faith, often faces disapproval in countries that pride themselves on freedom and inclusivity. France, home to a significant population of North African and Muslim immigrants, paradoxically witnesses xenophobic and blatantly Islamophobic incidents grounded in secularism and the asserted right to be.

From the prohibition of abayas in schools to daily microaggressions, the instances are numerous. Notably, Paris has seen incidents such as the police shooting and critical injury of a woman wearing a hijab in a metro station, triggered by commuters reporting her alleged “extremist” slogans. In another distressing incident, a group of inebriated women assaulted a gathering of Muslim women and children in the Champ de Mars park, situated at the base of the Eiffel Tower. This attack escalated to an attempt to forcibly remove their head scarfs, resulting in the stabbing of two veiled women. 

Zineb Koutten, a 22-year-old Moroccan photographer, recently visited Paris and was inspired by her first jaunt to the City of Love to explore the daily racism faced by veiled women in the European country. As a hijab-wearing woman herself, she embarked on a photographic journey, capturing the life of visibly Muslim women in a city seemingly resistant to their presence. This culminated in a photographic series titled “Paris Through Their Lens,” which highlights the experiences of 20 hijabi women in Paris. Each woman is photographed in her favorite district and interviewed to share her unique perspective.

“I sometimes meet people during my travels that aren’t as informed as I wish they’d be about the hijab, and there’s no shame in ignorance,” Koutten told MILLE. “The shame is when they choose to stay in it. I feel that one of my duties as a hijabi Muslim woman is to enrich people’s minds and make them learn more about what’s important to me, as well as millions of others, and I feel that everyone needs to do the same, especially nowadays, when principles are getting slowly washed away,” says the Moroccan photographer.

Koutten explains that the underlying purpose of her work is to showcase the beauty in what is hidden. “I like to look at what’s underrated in traditions and cultures like mine, under the threat of fading away in the current modern world. I wish for my work to change something in the world. I don’t want to have spent my whole life without adding something positive, even if it’s small,” she elaborates.

As a hijab-wearing woman visiting Paris, Koutten shares that she has been fortunate to have only experienced stares, but she acknowledges that living in the French capital for many young women could be a different experience. “If I was in these young women’s shoes, living in Paris would have been very different than just visiting temporarily,” she says. 

“Everybody needs to know more about hijabis, most specifically in France, and how performing basic human rights such as going to school and having a salaried job with their hijab on can get complicated,”  she adds. 

Koutten’s work aims to dismantle stereotypes, starting with the misconception that Muslim women are oppressed and don’t live their lives to the fullest. “Each woman I photographed is a dreamer, working towards something. That’s a sign that the hijab was and will never be a barrier preventing you from dreaming and living the life you actually want to live, even through hardships,” she proudly asserts.

 “Sharing what I do makes me feel proud that I represent women like me. That we are doing whatever we want on our terms, and that we are powerful, strong, and beautiful.” 

Below, 14 strong, powerful, and beautiful women photographed by Zineb Koutten:

Head Image by Abdessamad Tibharine