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From the heart of a small village in eastern Morocco, "Qasr Beni Yatti," part of the Bouanane commune in the Figuig province, emerges the remarkable story of Malika Tayebi. At just six years old, in 1985, she left her homeland for France, embarking on an extraordinary journey that intertwined academic challenges, professional success, and community service.
The beginning was far from easy; young Malika found herself grappling with a new language and a vastly different culture. Her educational journey was anything but straightforward, requiring her to recalibrate her path several times. At thirty, she made the bold decision to return to school, choosing to specialize in optics. Malika shares with Yabiladi, «My path was not straight, but perseverance was my weapon.»
She continues, «Thanks to relentless hard work and ambition, I was able to open my first optics store, Optica Store, in Strasbourg in 2018. By 2025, I took another leap by launching a second store in the same city.»
«Alongside my professional journey, I am a mother of three children, and I consider balancing family life with professional success to be one of my greatest achievements. I am proud of what I have accomplished and happy with the path I have taken, despite all the difficulties and challenges.»
Looking to the future, she dreams of opening a third optics store in Morocco, extending her professional journey and reconnecting with her roots in the land she holds dear, contributing her expertise to the development of the field there.
From Professional Success to Community Commitment
Malika's professional triumphs have not overshadowed her commitment to community work. She has been actively engaged in civil society, notably as a member of the National Union of Professionals in the Grand Est region (Uniproge), a platform fostering collaboration and experience-sharing among professionals from diverse sectors. Her efforts also extended to the innovative "Territories Without Long-term Unemployment" (TZCLD) initiative in Illkirch, northeastern France, where she contributed to the board of this ambitious association aimed at integrating long-term unemployed individuals into the workforce.
These experiences laid the groundwork for the creation of the Act’Humanité association. In November 2025, Malika and her colleagues announced the launch of this organization, which she now leads, as a vehicle for her humanitarian aspirations.
«The association aims to implement humanitarian and social initiatives both locally and internationally, by organizing activities to support people in difficult situations and participating in solidarity projects, in addition to developing initiatives aimed at strengthening the links between entrepreneurs and their community environment.»
Malika, along with the association's members, is working on their inaugural project: organizing a charity event to raise funds and provide the necessary financial resources and equipment for field programs, especially in Morocco, with a focus on rural areas lacking resources, whether in terms of supporting schools or providing educational supplies and equipment.
Malika adds that the association's vision focuses «on enabling the local population, especially women, to achieve economic independence and improve their living conditions, rather than relying on temporary assistance.»
In this context, the association seeks to support the population at the start of projects and guide them towards initiatives that can be implemented within villages, such as establishing cooperatives or developing local production and marketing activities.
This rich path of giving has not gone unnoticed. Three years ago, on International Women's Day, Malika Taibi was honored with the Women's Entrepreneurship Award by the Moroccan Consulate in Strasbourg, a moment she describes as «an honor I greatly cherish.»
