The Zahia affair caused a stir in 2010. The person concerned today testifies to the repercussions that this had in her life.
Two players from the French team entangled in an underage escort-girl affair, it was in 2010 and it was the Zahia affair. At the time, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribéry were prosecuted and then acquitted by the Paris Criminal Court, which concluded that the two footballers were in good faith, not informed of the age of the prostitute at the time of the facts according to their statements. 13 years later, the victim of this sordid story testifies.
“ This scandal affected me a lot. Since I didn’t look for it. I didn’t provoke himwhispers Zahia as part of a podcast produced by L’Equipe. I didn’t file a complaint against anyone. I didn’t go to the police, they came to get me because they had recordings, wiretaps. (…) At first, I deny it. My name came out in the press against my will, for me it was the end of my life. I even thought about committing suicide. We know very well: this label is the worst that a woman can wear in society. And starting my adult life with that label, being known by everyone as that kind of woman, it was very hard. »
“They killed me”
Today recognized in the artistic world as an actress, model and fashion designer, Zahia Dehar thought of ending it, convinced then that her destiny was now hopeless. “ I wondered what I would be able to do with my life. When I was going to look for work, I said to myself: “People are going to laugh at me, I’m going to be rejected, I’m going to experience discrimination based on this label.” The same for trying to live my personal life: being in a relationship, having a family life, what would that be like? To every man who approached me, they would say: “But you’re not going to go with her anyway? For me, I had been killed. (…) It was a huge challenge: either I kill myself or I try to overcome this. It was almost a mission impossible to succeed in finding work, moving forward, doing things that I enjoyed and not thinking about judgment. »
