{"id":2738,"date":"2023-12-07T14:46:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T14:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/sarah-zouak-leading-a-laboratory-of-muslim-feminism-in-france\/"},"modified":"2024-10-15T20:35:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T20:35:58","slug":"sarah-zouak-leading-a-laboratory-of-muslim-feminism-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/sarah-zouak-leading-a-laboratory-of-muslim-feminism-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Zouak: Leading a Laboratory of Muslim Feminism in France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-2-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-2-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-2-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-2-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"A woman, Naomi Zeveloff, wearing a green blouse, sitting on a grey couch, smiling.\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Sarah Zouak: Leading a Laboratory of Muslim Feminism in France<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n          <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span>Naomi Zeveloff<\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 7, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 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     >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>When Sarah Zouak was a graduate student in France, an adviser told her that the phrase \u201cMuslim feminist\u201d was a contradiction in terms. Zouak had proposed a thesis on the topic when the adviser laughed. \u201cNo, no,\u201d said the adviser, whom Zouak declined to name. \u201cYou are either a feminist or a Muslim, but you can\u2019t be both at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>That exchange, disappointing at the time, provided fuel for what would become Zouak\u2019s life\u2019s mission. Not only did she pursue a thesis on Muslim feminism, she went on to co-found a French Muslim feminist group. Lallab, based in Paris, exists to \u201cmake the voices of Muslim women heard and to defend their rights,\u201d she said. The group\u2019s name is a portmanteau of the Arabic word for madam, \u201clalla,\u201d and the French \u201claboratoire,\u201d or laboratory.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The organization helps Muslim women \u2014 its 500-plus members are called \u201cLallas\u201d \u2014 undergo a \u201chealing process\u201d by learning about overlapping sources of oppression in their lives. It then dispatches them as activists to transform French society. In addition to other initiatives, Lallab has focused on changing the French news landscape by pushing media personalities to interview Muslim women on issues of their concern, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/02\/01\/sport\/france-hijab-ban-intl-spt\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">restrictions<\/a> on religious dress in the public sphere. \u201cIn France,\u201d said Zouak, \u201cWe were always talking about Muslim women but without any Muslim women on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Zouak\u2019s road to starting Lallab began in childhood. The daughter of Moroccan immigrants, Zouak, 34, said she was raised to be proud of her \u201cmultiple identities.\u201d She grew up in multicultural Ivry-sur-Seine, a historically Communist Paris neighborhood, and visited Morocco during the summer. Though her parents didn\u2019t use the word \u201cfeminist\u201d to describe themselves, they embodied the term, pushing Zouak and her two sisters to be independent.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the things I learned as a feminist were their ways of seeing and contributing to the world,\u201d she said. Her parents also taught their daughters about Islam, emphasizing the surahs about how men and women were equally obligated to follow the religion\u2019s humanistic teachings. \u201cThey were teaching us that as women we should be actors of justice,\u201d no different from men, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Zouak said that her childhood with her \u201cperfect\u201d parents was a \u201cbubble,\u201d one that inevitably burst as she came of age in France, a staunchly secular country where religious expression, and especially Muslim expression, is policed in the public sphere.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understood really quickly that being a girl, being Arab, and being Muslim was not really a good thing here in France,\u201d she said. She recalled neighbors telling her parents that their daughters were well behaved \u201cfor an Arab Muslim family\u201d; at school, other students teased her by calling her father a \u201cterrorist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>As Zouak pursued her academic degrees, she was mystified by what she felt was a cultural insistence that she had to choose between her faith and her ambition. \u201cIn France, they were always talking about how faith is an obstacle for female empowerment,\u201d she said. Zouak knew that wasn\u2019t true \u2014 and after she finished school she decided to prove it to a wider audience by embarking on a documentary project to interview 25 women leaders in Muslim majority countries.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The resulting film, which she completed with Lallab co-founder Justine Devillaine, was a sensation among French Muslims \u2014 a population of more than five million \u2014 drawing audiences of women who stayed after screenings for deep conversations about their lives and struggles. Zouak knew that she had hit upon a need \u2013 and in 2016, Lallab was born.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Paya Ndiaye, who saw the film and quickly joined Lallab, grew up \u201cbetween two different cultures\u201d as the daughter of Senegalese Muslim immigrants to France. Lallab proved a place where she didn\u2019t have to choose which part of her identity to emphasize; she now works for the group as an organizer and training manager.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>It \u201cwas the first time I met with an organization that allowed me to really address all the things I was saying at once without selecting which part was more important to me at the moment,\u201d Ndiaye said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":100951,\"width\":840,\"height\":560,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-102305\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/crcc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/12\/Sarah-Zouak-Paya-Ndiaye-and-Justine-Devillaine-by-Naomi-Zeveloff-1536x1024-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Sarah Zouak, Paya Ndiaye and Justine Devillaine work to organize French Muslim feminists through Lallab.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:spacer {\"height\":\"25px\"} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:spacer --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Over the years, Lallab\u2019s work to empower French Muslim women has been met with pushback, including online harassment campaigns and criticism from politicians. In 2022, a government agent even showed up at Lallab\u2019s annual festival to surveil the organization\u2019s work, Zouak said. Now, Zouak and other leaders fear for Lallab\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The Collective for Countering Islamophobia in Europe has documented the<a href=\"https:\/\/ccieurope.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/CCIE-REPORT-2022.pdf\"> widespread shuttering<\/a> of mosques, Muslim schools, and associations in France under a 2021<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vie-publique.fr\/loi\/277621-loi-separatisme-respect-des-principes-de-la-republique-24-aout-2021\"> law<\/a> against \u201cseparatism.\u201d The legislation <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/polygamy-radicalism-secularism-elections-france-cbee2c916aa8c35380562277f0025c2b\">gained steam<\/a> after several high profile attacks, including in 2020 when an 18-year-old Muslim man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/france-security-school-parents-idINKBN27201Z\/\">beheaded a teacher<\/a> following an online campaign accusing him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in class.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Devillaine said that the group\u2019s close ties with other feminist groups in France likely shielded it from closure in the past, but since the 2021 law, \u201cwe don\u2019t feel protected anymore.\u201d She added: \u201cWe know we are scrutinized, there is no question about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The environment in France has felt even more restricted in 2023, Zouak said, citing an \u201cintense, even obsessive focus\u201d on the outfits of female high school students after Gabriel Attal, the new education minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/15\/world\/europe\/france-abaya-ban-attal.html\">banned the abaya<\/a> in public schools on the grounds that the loose-fitting garment makes religious identity apparent in what should be a secular place. (The hijab has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/02\/01\/sport\/france-hijab-ban-intl-spt\/index.html\">banned<\/a> in public schools since 2004.)<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYoung teenagers have thus experienced what can easily be described as a wave of harassment within their schools,\u201d said Zouak. \u201cSummoned, questioned and insulted, many young girls had to justify their choice of clothing and explain their religious beliefs, family habits, opinions on the terrorist attacks and so on.\u201d She said that Lallab has fielded \u201cnumerous requests for help from students, parents and teachers, powerless to stem this collective crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>This difficult year has also had moments of optimism. Lallab\u2019s mission received a boost when Zouak, Ndiaye and another Lallab leader underwent leadership and storytelling training at the Harvard Kennedy School, an experience that they have already applied to Lallab\u2019s collective organizing.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Zouak has a clear vision of what\u2019s next: \u201cThe future of Lallab is to continue to create more solidarity, to produce our own narratives and to continue to build power in French society,\u201d she said. One component of building power is to show France that Muslim women are not victims but the agents of their own destiny.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate when people say you are a voice of the voiceless,\u201d Zouak said. \u201cWe all have a voice, it\u2019s just that you don\u2019t want to hear ours.\u201d Yet.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Sarah Zouak was a graduate student in France, an adviser told her that the phrase \u201cMuslim feminist\u201d was a contradiction in terms. 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