Modern Day Algeria:

A continued fight for gender equality

Last year, Algeria celebrated 60 years of Independence from colonial rule. Yet, this page described how oppression still exists in the country through social, economic, and political gender inequalities. Despite this difficulty though, we will see that women have maintained their revolutionary spirit and continue to advocate for change.

A woman wearing the Algerian flag as a veil during a protest against corruption in the Algerian government, 2019

Prolonged Injustice

In recent years, some progress has been made in the way of gender equality. For example, in 2020 the literacy rate amongst females in Algeria was actually higher than that of males, and the proportion of women attending tertiary school was 66% compared to only 39% of male attending. Legislation aiming to increase equality has also passed, and Algeria's current constitution, which was revised in 2020, includes the following clauses:

Article 40: The State protects women against all forms of violence in all places and in all circumstances in the public space, in the professional sphere and in the private sphere.
Article 59: The State works for the promotion of the political rights of women by encouraging their opportunities of access to representation in the elected assemblies.
Article 68: The State encourages the promotion of women to responsibilities in the public institutions and administrations as well as at the level of enterprises.

These articles, along with a clause that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex, express an interest in advancing equal gender relations in the country. However, they do not include a specific plan on how to implement these goals, and inequalities in Algeria's political and economic realms certainly still exist. For example, only 26% of elected seats in parliament are occupied by women, women are more than twice as likely to be unemployed, and only 8% of managers are female. Gendered violence is also still an issue. In 2019, 75 counts of femicide were recorded, and in the past three years there has been a noticeable increase of domestic violence cases. What's more, it is rare for perpetrators of such crimes to be arrested for their behavior due to the persistent belief in the justice system that domestic violence should remain a household matter.

Thus, we see that the increase in legislative efforts to protect women's rights has not been enough to reverse centuries-old attitudes that set women in an inferior position to men. This points to the fact that important than passing laws is eliminating negative stereotypes about women and erasing residual gender norms that exclude women from the public sphere. Legislation is valuable support, but it is engrained social biases that must be dismantled to truly advance the position of women in Algerian society.

Voices for Change

"Our blood is the same as the men's. Our blood is not just water. Our blood is our blood." - FLN militant and feminist activist Djamila Bouhired, 2019

Despite the reemergence of gender oppression after the war, women did not lose their revolutionary fervor. Indeed, the legacy of female wartime participation has lived on as many women in Algeria continue their fight for freedom from Algeria's patriarchal structures. In fact, women were seen gathering as early as March 3rd, 1965 (International Women's Day) to criticize the regime's sexist attitudes, and this trend of organized resistance has only gained momentum. For example, in 1981 women coordinated widespread protests against the preliminary establishment of the Code de la Famille. Later, in 1988 women ignored their lack of legislative leverage and took a formal political in the first ever protests against Algeria's legal use of torture in prisons.

Such involvement has carried into the 21st century. This was seen especially in the 2019 Algerian Hirak Revolution, also know as the "Revolution of Smiles." This movement was directed against then-President Abdelaziz Boutefilka's announcement of his fifth presidential candidacy, a power grab that was a direct constitutional violation. This peaceful democratic movement, which resulted in the President's resignation, was spearheaded by women and opened up a broader dialogue about protecting women's rights. In fact, demonstrations happened around "Feminist Square" near the University of Algiers, many women were arrested for their involvement in the protests, and one of the protests' core demands was equal representation of men and women in government.

"We are living a wonderful, peaceful uprising against the current political system. The massive presence of women in the demonstrations... demands a recognition of the need for women's rights and an equal Algerian society." - The FACE declaration

A video of law student Nour el Houda Dahmani being released from 45 days in prison for her involvement in the Revolution of Smiles. She immediately returned to law school after leaving prison to pursue her goal of becoming a human rights lawyer.

The protests even gave rise to the publication of the Femmes Algériennes Pour un Changement vers L’égalité (FACE), a declaration made by a group of twenty female activists with a list of seven demands calling for political, social, and economic equality. Just one day after the declaration was made, the newly appointed Prime Minister made a statement committing to forming a democracy that would better "reflect the demographics of the Algerian society."

In the past few years protests have also continued to break out against the Code de la Famille's and its oppressive statutes. For example, in 2021 news station France 24 reported women marching on the Algerian capitol and chanting "equality for men and women" and "women are committed." Pictured above are women protesting the Code de la Famille in 2020. Sign reads "Repeal the Code de la Famille."

Organized Support

In addition to female activism, there are also various domestic and international organizations that support women's rights in Algeria. For example, the outcry for gender equality in the Revolution of Smiles inspired the creation of the Civil Society Collective for a Democratic Transition, a network of over thirty organizations focused on fighting female oppression in Algeria. Among these groups are volunteer organizations like the Djazairouna Association, a nearly 30 year-old institution whose founding mission was supporting women and families impacted by the Algerian Civil War. The Djazairouna Association has recently added an initiative of supporting women's rights on a broader scale as well. For example, in March of 2020 they launched the She Builds Peace Campaign, which runs workshops and peace walks to raise awareness about sexual violence against women and propose potential solutions to the issue. In addition to aid organizations, educational efforts in Algeria also exist. For instance, in 2019 a team of doctoral students started the Algeria Women's Struggle Archives Project. The women have the goal of digitizing archival documents related to Algerian women's movements to make visible the work of feminists in the past and encourage the female freedom fighters of today.

A 2021 She Builds Peace Campaign poster.

The Djazairouna Association and the Algeria Women's Struggle Archives Project are based in Algeria; however, there are also multi-national organizations that focus on gender equality in the country. For example, the Middle East's Women's Initiative, which is a project sponsored by the U.S. government think tank the Wilson Center, conducts research and hosts dialogues between female leaders in the Middle East with the goal of increasing gender parity in Algeria.

Similarly, between 2007 and 2013 the MDG Achievement Fund launched a program centered around increasing access to employment for women in Algeria. The MDG Achievement Fund is an international cooperation mechanism that was established in 2007 by the United Nations Development Program and the Government of Spain to encourage the completion of the UN's Millennium Development Goals MDGs). Its multi-million dollar program in Algeria gathered gender-specific data on the region, developed pilot programs for female job recruiting, and launched public information campaigns about issues of gender inequality in the country.

Reflecting and Looking Forward

"The woman has no other way out than to work on her liberation. This liberation can only be a collective one." - Simone de Beauvoir

Female demonstrators in Algeria at a march on International Women's Day, 2020

Overtime, Algerian women have been disadvantaged legally, socially, and culturally. Despite the major changes that have occurred between the pre-colonial era and modern day Algeria, strict gender norms that set women as inferior to men have remained as a continuity. Even with recent legislative progress, patriarchal structures and sexist attitudes are still prevalent in the country and prevent women from enjoying equal opportunity in the public sphere. However, for as long as gender oppression has persisted in Algeria, women have also taken a stand against their mistreatment. From their resistance to the arrival of the French to their militant involvement in the War for Independence to their continued protests against unjust laws like the Code de la Famille, women have not surrendered in the face of subjugation. Instead, female leaders in Algeria and abroad have spoken out for what is right and worked together to fight for justice. An important lesson can be taken from this story of resilience, and although there is still much to be done in the way of gender equality in Algeria, there is reason for hope. Indeed, through education efforts, increased awareness, and continued advocacy spearheaded by future generations of activists and organizations, there is no reason to doubt that Algerian women will not continue on their path of progress and grow ever nearer to receiving the equal rights that they have so long deserved.

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