Imazi.Reine founder Fatima-Zohra discusses building communities and decolonial feminism.

May 5, 2021

min read

Fatima-Zohra Ait El Maâti is the leader of Imazi.Reine, a Belgian feminist 2.0 and inclusive collective. She raises social awareness through social media and creates safe spaces for women of color to express themselves. She fosters a community where members can rely on one another to find comfort and solutions for their traumas.

“Seeing women of color draw strength from sharing their stories often leads to finding solutions, sometimes even political ones.” — Fatima-Zohra, Founder of Imazi.Reine

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Inspired by women to inspire women

Born in Morocco and raised in Belgium, Fatima-Zohra studied architecture and sociology. Despite having no prior experience in filmmaking, she released her short film “My Grandmother is Not a Feminist” in 2019. The film sparked discussions and led audiences to recognize Fatima as an activist. The documentary explores femininity, sexuality, immigration, and decolonization through a conversation between Fatima and her grandmother.

I was born into a family of very strong women, and I never doubted it. It’s as if I inherited these feminine values from my family without ever using the word “feminist”; I’ve always felt this way.

The documentary also highlights how Fatima-Zohra was raised as an Amazigh Muslim woman. The Amazigh are an indigenous ethnic group from North Africa. In Tamazight (Berber), they are called Imazighen or IMAZI.REINE, which inspired Fatima to name her feminist collective accordingly.

A safe space to come together, stand up for what’s right, and heal

On the one hand, Imazi.Reine is a movement that champions inclusivity, feminism 2.0, anti-racism, and decolonization. On the other hand, it’s a safe space where women of color can build trust with one another by sharing their stories both online and offline as close sisters. Fatima-Zohra explains that she needed this collective just as much as the rest of her community:

There is strength in simply coming together and talking with people who are going through the same experiences.

In this interview, Fatima shares how she uses social media and her community to raise social awareness. One of the collective’s goals is to dismantle negative stereotypes and racist misconceptions about Muslim women of color.

The success of the #HijabisFightBack campaign— co-organizedby Imazi.Reine in opposition to the hijab ban in schools and universities—is another example of Fatima-Zohra’s fight for decolonial feminism. She also explains how she builds inclusive online and offline communities with women of color from the African diaspora, particularly around mental health.

To learn more about her views and initiatives supporting women of color, watch the full interview on our IGTV. This exclusive video is the third episode in a series featuring influencers who use social media to raise awareness about social issues. All interviews were conducted in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols and recorded at the temporary occupation BARA 142 (Status).

Direction & Photography: Helena Verheyen//Interview & Video: Paul-Henri Yuma//Main Photo: Loic Meulenberg//Editor-in-Chief: Tim Vanhaecke

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