The coastal capital of Accra, Ghana, has a tropical climate, but each year there is a dry season called the Harmattan when cool, dusty winds blow in from the Sahara Desert. The dust settles over the city like a dense fog, blurring the air over the bustling markets and red sand beaches. For the women of the international Muslim communities in northern Accra, the Harmattan is a time of year associated with relationships and reflection.
A German-born artist with Ghanaian roots who now lives and works in Accra, Zohra Opoku uncovers the daily lives of these women—whom she calls her “protagonists”—by photographing them in intimate spaces ordinarily hidden from view. “It was amazing how when I decided to work with the Muslim community, how the doors were very open, and how warmly received I was,” she says. “They were willing to open up their personal space for me to share inside their home, their community, their daily environment, things they were doing. I’m overwhelmed by how many people I met through this, and how much I learned by spending time with them.”