Jameela Elfaki & Sunayah Arshad
Jameela Elfaki & Sunayah Arshad, Co-founders of Azeema Magazine, based in London
In conversation with AZEEMA
AZEEMA is a print magazine, online platform, community and creative agency, exploring women and non-binary folk within West Asia, North Africa and South Asia, diasporas and BEYOND. The space has grown into a positive cultural force with a talented, diverse team and incredible international community.
I’ve greatly admired AZEEMA’s work for some time now. Their thoughtful and tasteful approach to filling a gap that’s been left empty and neglected for too long has resulted in the creation of a space I frequently return to when in need of some comfort. The voices AZEEMA highlights, their commitment to challenging western constructs and confronting issues surrounding representation, and their never-ending celebration of our existence has left the greater community yearning for more.
It was an absolute pleasure chatting with Jameela & Sunayah, as well as Evar Hussayni and Dalia Al-Dujaili from the team.
Could each of you please introduce yourselves?
Jameela Elfaki: Founder/Editor in Chief and Creative Director of AZEEMA.
I am British (Sudanese-English) and grew up in the UK. I’m also a freelance photographer and a creative director - a multi-disciplinary artist working across different mediums. My practices are often focused on identity, representation and the visibility of women and non-binary folk of colour. My work is inspired by my own dual heritage, exploring themes of the 'in-between' and the nature of different cultures/beliefs coming together.
Sunayah Arshad: Deputy Editor & Producer of AZEEMA
I’m the Deputy Editor & Producer of AZEEMA as well as a freelance creative producer, writer and DJ. I’m Pakistani, born and raised in the UK.
Evar Hussayni: I am the Senior Editor of AZEEMA. I’m also a Kurdish multi-disciplinary artist and researcher whose work focuses on the politics of memory and alternative archival structures.
Dalia Al-Dujaili: I’m the Digital Editor of Azeema. I’m a British Iraqi-Egyptian. I also host panel talks, workshops and podcasts.
On our wider team we also have Shayma Bakht, Ella Lucia, Naailah Khalifa, Nour Khairi, Yassmine Benalla and Fatima Benjelloun!
Please introduce Azeema! What’s the story & what was the original intention?
AZEEMA was launched in 2017 as part of Jameela’s university degree at CSM. The decision to create the magazine came from a place of frustration - due to lack of representation of women and non binary folk from the WANA+SA regions in publishing/fashion and the general media. It also came from Jameela’s personal exploration of her own mixed heritage and understanding of her identity.
Why the WANA+SA region? Was this always your target audience?
Yes, we’re all ethnically from the region and due to the historic lack of representation and exclusion/misrepresentation in mainstream media of our voices and our work, we want to champion women and non-binary folk who are creating, vocalising their experiences, and exploring their identities related to this region. Originally in 2017 it was focused on just WANA - but expanded to SA + Beyond as this felt like a natural progression
Let’s talk about WANA+SA identity & representation in white-dominated spaces — how did your own experiences / potential culture clashes influence your will/need to create Azeema?
There’s been so much discussion already about the lack of WANA+SA representation in the arts – but as an idea, the UK Arts Council’s latest figures show that the total percentage of people who are BAME in the creative industries is 13 per cent. For us, we’ve all had experiences of extreme exclusion, doors shut in our faces and opportunities not extended to us and our community when it comes to creating and producing. So, we’re on a mission to create our own space and forge our own opportunities so that we don’t need the permission of white (& male) dominant voices.
Culture clash is a big part of our identities - for Jameela, growing up surrounded by different cultures and having different cultures at home. It was only natural that this was (and still is) ingrained into the foundations of AZEEMA both visually and journalistically. It’s about celebrating all of our intersecting identities.
What is the story behind the title of your platform?
AZEEMA is an Arabic word which means “strength, determination, resoluteness, firmness of purpose”. It was a name that was given by Jameela’s Baba (Dad) who was very involved in the creation of AZEEMA.
This is the universal ethos we hope our readers and community sense when looking at our work. To feel powerful and buoyant in whatever political or social context they may be in. We aim to empower women and non-binary folk through creative expression and we hold strength in our community.
How has Azeema grown over the years? How is your original vision of the platform different from what it is now?
Since the launch of the magazine as a university project five years ago, AZEEMA has evolved into so much more than we ever imagined. Alongside the print magazine, we now have a digital platform, creative agency and beautiful international community. Our team is also expanding which is incredible to see. Although the vision and baseline aim of AZEEMA has remained relatively the same, our drive to keep pushing, keep creating and do more for the community is constantly growing.
What are some challenges that come with highlighting the WANA+SA community / creatives? What have you picked up on / learned throughout your journey?
Sensitivity is a big one – a lot of the people’s stories on our site and in our magazine are unique, intimate, often deeply personal, and require a lot of bravery and introspection to voice. So, we’re always trying to be sensitive to those stories and honour their narrators by being as authentic as we can. It’s important that we are a platform that is by the community, for the community.
Did Azeema start as a print magazine and/or online platform? When did you start to do events and workshops?
AZEEMA started and launched as a print magazine, which grew into an online platform a year or so later. In 2019 we took a break from print to focus on building our online platform while doing more with the community through events and workshops. This is something that we really love doing - it’s so important for us to share opportunities and come together with our community to celebrate our existence!
When we talk about safe spaces, what do those mean & look like to you?
A safe space is somewhere (literal or figurative) where you feel you can voice your opinion without being judged, belittled, patronised, ignored, dismissed etc. - where you feel like your voice is heard, where your addition to the conversation is valued, it adds weight and it matters. It’s somewhere you feel safe to be your complete authentic and unapologetic self. For too long, these spaces have been white spaces, and women and non-binary folk of colour have always had to force themselves in, sit on the sidelines and listen in. If their voices are heard, it is always the minority voice. AZEEMA and many other organisations and collectives like us work to change that. We’re no longer the small voice on the sidelines; we are the space.
What does community mean to you? In what ways have you been able to build community(ies) and empower them through Azeema? Has Azeema provided a strong sense of community for you, as well?
Everything we do is about community. As we’ve said before, the platform is about bringing people together who can connect over shared experiences and histories. We aim to encourage vocalising truths and exploring identities in safe spaces where we don’t feel like we need to hide parts of ourselves or belittle ourselves to fit in. One of the most recent examples was the TATE Late we held for the Lubaina Himid exhibition at TATE Modern. We brought together a group of Black DJs to hold sets throughout the night and encouraged many of our community to come down and party with us whilst celebrating Black artist Lubaina Himid. It was so wonderful to see the joy from our communities; celebrating dance, music and art!
What kind of feedback have you gotten from the WANA+SA diaspora(s) in regards to your work at Azeema?
Our community is our family and their loyalty to the work we create has been integral to our growth. The diasporas genuinely love having the chance to get together and celebrate themselves and we’re so humbled by their gratitude towards us. We’re very proud and we feel privileged that we get to offer them the space to enact this.
What are your hopes & vision for the future in regards to Azeema?
Azeema continues to grow and the year ahead will be filled with more parties, more productions and shoots, more events and workshops. But really, our main goal for the future is to secure a physical community space and studio space where members of our community can gather, learn, collaborate and communicate; a little Azeema home <3 Plus fundraise so we can pay our contributors and staff members.
Photographer - Supplied by Azeema
Interview - Naomi Joshi
