The award-winning Moroccan writer Karima Ahdad, born in 1993, lives in Istanbul, where she is a producer and social media content creator for Tabii, the global streaming platform of Turkish Radio and Television.
Ahdad’s literary work includes three novels, a collection of short stories, and other short fiction. Her writing is noteworthy for its bold feminism and unflinching exploration of sensitive topics, in particular the ways Moroccan women manage the demands of modern life within the constraints of their conservative, religious society. Ahdad’s first work, a 2016 award-winning collection of short stories, was followed by her novel Cactus Girls, which won the 2020 Mohammad Zafzaf award in Morocco. Her novel Turkish Dream recounts the struggles of Moroccan emigrés to Turkey, and her latest, The Other Woman, explores female relationships and virtual voyeurism through the eyes of Scheherazade, a Moroccan woman obsessed with her husband’s former lover. Ahdad won first prize in the 2024 Flash Fiction competition sponsored by Arablit and Komet Kashakeel for her short story “A Slender Thorn Digs into My Foot.”
Ahdad’s journalism career has included positions at TRT Arabi, Raseef22, Deutsche Welle, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and numerous Moroccan media outlets. She holds degrees in journalism from Morocco’s Higher Institute of Information and Communication, and has extensive experience in content creation, social media management, and multimedia journalism.
