The graphic novel Hshouma, corps et sexualité au Maroc, translated into Italian, Galician, Spanish, and Moroccan Arabic, marked a pivotal moment for Zainab Fasiki. Born in 1994 in Fez, Morocco, she operates as a mechanical engineer, illustrator, and women's rights activist, utilizing comic art to confront censorship, social taboos, and the patriarchal standards governing female bodies within her home country.
Professional Training and Early Beginnings
Fasiki began drawing at four years of age. She holds formal training as a mechanical engineer, a technical background that exists alongside her career as a draftsperson and artist. In 2014, she relocated to Casablanca, where she established her primary base of operations. She joined the Skefkef collective, an early platform for her work, and published her first feminist comic strip, Omor, in 2017. This collection utilized three protagonists to examine the social inequities faced by women in Morocco.
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Her artistic output frequently centers on self-portraits, often depicting herself in the nude to challenge local customs. One notable example, The Protector of Casablanca, shows a green figure monitoring the city to address street harassment. Her graphic storytelling, including works like the bus-focused narrative criticizing public transport harassment, intentionally omits eyes on female characters, which she views as a symbolic representation of the status of women as inanimate statues rather than free individuals. Beyond her own creative output, she founded the Women Power collective to facilitate workshops concerning rights for women.
International Recognition and Publication History
The Hshouma project, centered on the Moroccan Arabic term for shame, gained international prominence following exhibitions at Madrid’s Matadero arts centre in 2018 and subsequent publications. In October 2018, she collaborated with the UN Refugee Agency to animate the experiences of sub-Saharan refugees. Her contributions continued in 2020 with illustrations for L'amour fait loi, a volume addressing sexual discrimination featuring contributors such as Leïla Slimani and Abdellah Taïa. She received the Prix Couilles au cul in 2022 and was recognized as a Next Generation Leader by TIME magazine in 2019.
Fast facts
- Born: 1994, Fez
- Citizenship: Morocco
- Primary Occupations: Mechanical engineer, illustrator, activist
- Notable Award: Prix Couilles au cul (2022)
- Residence: Casablanca
- Languages: English, Moroccan Arabic
Questions readers ask
What is the Hshouma project?
It is a collection of comic-style drawings and a graphic novel that criticizes double standards and sexual taboos in Morocco.
Why does she depict women without eyes in her comics?
She states that she portrays them this way because she views women in her society as statues, and she desires them to become free human beings.
Achievements
- Worked as draftsperson, illustrator and mechanical engineer
