Zineb Mekouar was born in Casablanca. She studied at the French international school Lycée Lyautey and later graduated from Science Po and HEC Paris before launching her career in strategic consulting, serving in the campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron. Her debut novel “La Poule et son Cumin” (The Hen and its Cumin) tells the story of two radically opposed young Moroccan women and highlights the social and political divisions of contemporary Morocco. Mekouar was nominated in 2022 for the “First Novel” award by the renowned French literary organization Goncourt Academy.

IMA Summer Series: Al-Monitor and the Institut du Monde Arabe are pleased to announce that highlights of the Al-Monitor podcast ‘Reading the Middle East with Gilles Kepel’ are available this summer in French as part of a six-episode summer series. Gilles Kepel, one of the world’s leading experts on Islam, the Middle East and North Africa and a professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, is the host of the Al-Monitor podcast featuring interviews with authors and thought leaders from around the world to discuss key trends in the region.

About Al-Monitor: Al-Monitor, honored with the International Press Institute’s Free Media Pioneer Award in 2014, provides reporting and analysis on the Middle East. Al-Monitor offers an in-depth focus on Egypt, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey as well as US Congressional developments.

About The Institut du Monde Arabe: The Institut du Monde Arab was founded in 1980 by France alongside 18 Middle East and North African nations to research and distribute information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute is located in Paris in a building that was the recipient of the 1989 Aga Khan Award for Architectural Excellence.