Between 1954 and 1962, Algerian women played a major role in the struggle to end French rule in one of the most violent wars of decolonisation of the 20th century. This book presents an in-depth ...exploration of what happened to these women after independence in 1962.
It is well documented that contemporary debates about political legitimacy in Algeria are often structured through the juxtaposition of conflicting narratives of the past, and in particular, the War ...of Independence (1954-62) and its aftermath. Alternative versions of what happened to female combatants (mujahidat) after the war are a case in point: in the glorified official discourse, the revolution liberated women though the emancipation of the Algerian people; in feminist oppositional narratives, female combatants were betrayed by a patriarchal post-colonial regime composed of men of dubious wartime credentials. How these discourses are received and reinterpreted by young Algerians today has received little academic attention. This article presents new empirical research: a case study carried out in 2007 of 95 trainee teachers in History, Arabic Literature, Philosophy, French and English at the Ecole normale supérieure in Bouzaréah, Algiers. It explores what image students have of the mujahidat and how this image is formed through the filters of school textbooks, family stories, films, books and current affairs. As recipients of narratives constructed at different times and with different aims, it is argued that students have fused the local, national and transnational frames of reference available to them, creating new readings of the past which sidestep easy categorisation into 'official' and 'oppositional' versions. The article thus highlights the importance of not only paying close attention to how the past is read through the present, but also to how the past is read through a series of more recent, post-independence pasts.
Taking the example of women active in the Algerian National Liberation Front during the War of Independence, this article examines how different typologies of "the Muslim woman" were challenged, ...subverted, and reconfigured between 1954 and 1962. The article looks at how women who did not conform to colonial gendered ethnoreligious stereotypes come to threaten the continuing existence of French Algeria both on the ground and on the international stage. It then turns to consider the sexual abuse and rape that women often experienced when captured by the French arms. Finally, the article examines the relationship between women, Islamic principles, and the independence movement. Based on extensive interviews with female participants in the war, the article focuses throughout on women's appropriation and subversion of assigned roles and assumptions. A central concern is to compare the analytic categories of "gender" and "race" with the frames of reference these women use to articulate their own lives.
Taking the example of women active in the Algerian National Liberation Front during the War of Independence, this article examines how different typologies of "the Muslim woman" were challenged, ...subverted, and reconfigured between 1954 and 1962. The article looks at how women who did not conform to colonial gendered ethnoreligious stereotypes came to threaten the continuing existence of French Algeria both on the ground and on the international stage. It then turns to consider the sexual abuse and rape that women often experienced when captured by the French army. Finally, the article examines the relationship between women, Islamic principles, and the independence movement. Based on extensive interviews with female participants in the war, the article focuses throughout on women's appropriation and subversion of assigned roles and assumptions. A central concern is to compare the analytic categories of "gender" and "race" with the frames of reference these women use to articulate their own lives.
Prenant pour cas d'étude l'exemple de femmes algériennes actives dans le Front de libération nationale pendant la guerre d'indépendance algérienne, cet article analyse comment les différentes typologies de « la femme musulmane » ont été remises en question, subverties et reconfigurées entre 1954 et 1962. L'article examine comment les femmes qui ne correspondaient pas aux stéréotypes genrés et ethno-religieux du système colonial sont devenues une menace pour le maintien de l'Algérie française. Ensuite, il considère les cas d'abus sexuel et de viol subis par les femmes capturées par l'armée française. Enfin, cet article examine les liens entre les femmes, les principes musulmans et le mouvement d'indépendance. Basé sur des entretiens réalisés avec des femmes ayant participé à la guerre, l'accent est mis sur les réponses de ces femmes aux rôles que l'on leur a assignés et comment elles se sont appropriés ces rôles et les ont subvertis. On compare également les catégories d'analyse « genre » et « race » avec les cadres de référence que ces femmes emploient pour articuler leur vie.
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