In Ayman Sitiane’s latest photo series, Cheikha, we’re invited to reimagine a figure not often celebrated in the mainstream: the North African cheikha. Traditionally seen as the glittering voice at weddings decked in sequins and kaftans, cheikhats were once the living, breathing resistance to colonial injustice and patriarchy.
“Cheikha is our visual tribute to that legacy,” says Sitiane, who is both the photographer and creative director of this work.
He also joins forces with his sister Rania Sitiane who very carefully styled the subjects.
Finally, Zina Louhaichy, played the meticulous role as the project’s casting director bringing together the faces that embody this spirit of defiance.
The result is a stunning, archival-meets-contemporary series that reminds the viewer to see these women as the warriors they are.
In Morocco and Algeria under French colonization, the cheikha’s voice was a weapon. She sang for the sultans as means of entertainment, but more importantly, the cheikha’s voice was a voice for the people. Kharbousha, one of the first activist cheikhats, famously defied a corrupt sultan by singing “Awaisa”—a protest song that sparked a movement. Cheikha Remitti carried this torch in Algeria, using her lyrics to fight for women’s rights and independence from patriarchal oppression.
Sitiane’s lens, sharp yet playful, captures the essence of these rebel souls. Each photograph fuses the texture of the past with a modern-day grit that feels urgent. Styled by Rania with deliberates choices for every fabric fold and every hue, these images call forth an ancestral memory.
In casting himself alongside models Yassin El 7ob, Yassine Ferahi, Tachefine Skounti, and Sidati Benmebarek, Sitiane brings the project’s vision to life. But it’s Louhaichy’s skill as casting director that ensures every face is a statement and every presence a testament to resilience. Her understanding of identity, drawn from her own Moroccan-Italian heritage and her brand Louhaichy, gives this project a depth that resonates far beyond the lens.
Rania Sitiane, with her Amazigh roots and passion for visual storytelling, roots each image in identity and emotion. Together, this sibling duo and Louhaichy craft more than a series and a statement that pays deep homage to the Cheikhas whose voices have never really left us.
We believe there’s deeper hidden message with the creative choice of the men that surround the Cheikha figure in this series. If you read our Tarboosh piece, you might be aware of it too (click here to read it). These symbols represented status and honor amongst the people at the time. Theres a quiet yet powerful message in centering Cheikha here, making her the most powerful yet rooted and grounded figure then and now.
With Cheikha, Sitiane, Louhaichy, and their collaborators refuse to let these warriors fade into the footnotes of history. Instead, they give them the a youthful stage but one in front of a lens. Remembering the women who sang for the people, who danced in defiance, and who wore their kaftans like armor.
