Maryam Turaki

Photographer

Identity and The Nigerian Woman

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Location: Abuja

Nationality: Nigerian

Biography: Maryam Turaki (b. 1991) is a documentary photographer based in Abuja, Nigeria, driven by a passion for humanity and life. She focuses on humanitarian, cultural, social stories, education, and human rights issues in Africa. She... MORE

Zara: “Identity for m...olving and changing.”

1 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Zara: “Identity for me, is how I present myself how I say: “This is who I am and this who I want the world to know that I am”. I can decide that this is the hill that I want to die on, this is who I want to tell the world, just essentially this is me, take me for who I am. The great thing about Identity is that it is constantly evolving and changing.”

Rahama: “I draw from ...at make me who I am.”

2 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Rahama: “I draw from family, faith, and experiences. I have an idea of my identity but I can’t really pin it down, for me, that’s really what works, I like that about myself. If anything, I can always go back to these 3 things I mentioned which are fundamentally the things that make me who I am.”

Zara: “Identity for m...olving and changing.”

3 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Zara: “Identity for me, is how I present myself how I say: “This is who I am and this who I want the world to know that I am”. I can decide that this is the hill that I want to die on, this is who I want to tell the world, just essentially this is me, take me for who I am. The great thing about Identity is that it is constantly evolving and changing.”

Zanak: "I don&rsqu...m very unpredictable."

4 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Zanak: "I don’t like to describe myself, I don’t like to talk about myself that much. I prefer that people just experience who I am at the time. I don’t think I’m the same person every time. I’m very unpredictable."

Xoxa: “I like to see ...come out of Nigeria.”

5 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Xoxa: “I like to see myself as light. That being the virtue of what I do, the kind of ideas that I have, it’s always such a blessing to see how people react to the ideas that I bring to life. I think the work that I do has shed quite a lot of light there are original and authentic art forms that can come out of Nigeria.”

Zanak: "I don&rsqu...m very unpredictable."

6 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Zanak: "I don’t like to describe myself, I don’t like to talk about myself that much. I prefer that people just experience who I am at the time. I don’t think I’m the same person every time. I’m very unpredictable."

Chef Safiya: “You can...th women in Nigeria.”

7 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Chef Safiya: “You can’t keep putting someone in a box, the box will break at some point, which is what I see happening lately with women in Nigeria.”

Ansih: “I like the bi... I see my identity”.

8 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Ansih: “I like the bird so much because it is free to go where ever it wants to go and it can only limit itself. That is how I see my identity”.

Hadiza: "No one had to... daughter and sister."

9 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Hadiza: "No one had told me that power could come from sex, that having sex and not feeling bad about yourself is a really strong type of feminism, especially in Nigeria. Duty describes my identity, I still feel I have a duty to my family to be a daughter and sister."

Xoxa: “I like to see ...come out of Nigeria.”

10 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Xoxa: “I like to see myself as light. That being the virtue of what I do, the kind of ideas that I have, it’s always such a blessing to see how people react to the ideas that I bring to life. I think the work that I do has shed quite a lot of light there are original and authentic art forms that can come out of Nigeria.”

Keren-Happuch: "My ide... I am expected to be."

11 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Keren-Happuch: "My identity right now is a struggling one. It’s a constant battle between who I truly am deep inside and who I am expected to be."

Rahama: “I draw from ...at make me who I am.”

12 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Rahama: “I draw from family, faith, and experiences. I have an idea of my identity but I can’t really pin it down, for me, that’s really what works, I like that about myself. If anything, I can always go back to these 3 things I mentioned which are fundamentally the things that make me who I am.”

Chef Safiya: “You can...th women in Nigeria.”

13 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Chef Safiya: “You can’t keep putting someone in a box, the box will break at some point, which is what I see happening lately with women in Nigeria.”

Fareedah: "I used to b...t or disappoint them?"

14 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Fareedah: "I used to be selfish, I never really cared about what other people wanted or expected of me, but now I pay attention to people’s expectations of me. Trying the find that balance between who I am and what other people want it’s harder than I thought it would be. How do I stay true to myself and also not stress people out or disappoint them?"

Hadiza: "No one had to... daughter and sister."

15 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Hadiza: "No one had told me that power could come from sex, that having sex and not feeling bad about yourself is a really strong type of feminism, especially in Nigeria. Duty describes my identity, I still feel I have a duty to my family to be a daughter and sister."

Ansih: “I like the bi... I see my identity”.

16 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Ansih: “I like the bird so much because it is free to go where ever it wants to go and it can only limit itself. That is how I see my identity”.

Keren-Happuch: "My ide... I am expected to be."

17 of 17 © 2024 Maryam Turaki

Keren-Happuch: "My identity right now is a struggling one. It’s a constant battle between who I truly am deep inside and who I am expected to be."

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Thumbnail of Zara: “Identity for me_volving and changing.”

Thumbnail of Rahama: “I draw from f_hat make me who I am.”

Thumbnail of Zara: “Identity for me_volving and changing.”

Thumbnail of Zanak: "I don&rsquo_;m very unpredictable."

Thumbnail of Xoxa: “I like to see m_ come out of Nigeria.”

Thumbnail of Zanak: "I don&rsquo_;m very unpredictable."

Thumbnail of Chef Safiya: “You can&_ith women in Nigeria.”

Thumbnail of Ansih: “I like the bir_w I see my identity”.

Thumbnail of Hadiza: "No one had tol_a daughter and sister."

Thumbnail of Xoxa: “I like to see m_ come out of Nigeria.”

Thumbnail of Keren-Happuch: "My iden_o I am expected to be."

Thumbnail of Rahama: “I draw from f_hat make me who I am.”

Thumbnail of Chef Safiya: “You can&_ith women in Nigeria.”

Thumbnail of Fareedah: "I used to be_ut or disappoint them?"

Thumbnail of Hadiza: "No one had tol_a daughter and sister."

Thumbnail of Ansih: “I like the bir_w I see my identity”.

Thumbnail of Keren-Happuch: "My iden_o I am expected to be."

Public Story

Identity and The Nigerian Woman

Copyright Maryam Turaki 2024

Date of Work Jun 2020 - Ongoing

Updated Nov 2020

Location Abuja, Nigeria

Topics Belief, Documentary, Friends + Family, Photography, Portraiture, Spotlight

In Nigeria, a woman's identity is usually defined by society and religion. She is told how to live, what religion to practice, how to love, how to live her life, when to marry, how many children she should have, whether or not she should be educated or even have a job. Society and Religion have largely dictated the box a woman should fit. The project focuses on Nigerian women and their identity. For these women their identity is theirs, they decide what makes their identity and how their life is lived, without fear and overcoming the fears. The project seeks to ask and find what identity means to the Nigerian woman and what expressing that identity is like in Nigeria.

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May 19, 2020

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