Remembering the women at the heart of Algeria’s independence

Throughout Algeria’s history, Algerian women have long kept the flames of resistance alive; most notably during the War of Independence (1954-1962). Their shared strength and indomitable spirit brought forth liberation after 132 years of brutal French colonial rule. Yet, despite the magnitude of their efforts during the war, their contributions are often overlooked.  

On September 30, 1956, a resistance cell consisting of Zohra Drif, Samia Lakhdari and Djamila Boupacha, carried out a coordinated operation as part of the FLN’s (National Liberation Front) broader strategy to combat French colonial rule. Each member selected a specific location to target–Lakhdari chose Rue Michelet, Boupacha the Air France Office, and Drif the Milk Bar Cafe, a popular spot where settlers were known to frequent. Disguising herself as a European woman, Drif entered the cafe and quietly set down a handbag containing a concealed device. It detonated minutes after her departure. 

The Milk Bar incident, which went on to become a major turning point of the war, drew global attention and brought forth the question of a liberated Algeria onto an international stage. In her memoir, Inside the Battle of Algiers, Drif defends her actions and reaffirms that they were necessary as a victim of colonialism and oppression.  “Perhaps the reader of today expects me to regret… I do not,” she wrote. “To regret [the incident] would be to obscure the central problem of settler colonialism. I will not adopt this position.” Drif further praised the women of the resistance in her memoir, asserting that the path towards freedom could not have been paved without their efforts. 

Other female fighters, such as Djamila Bouhred and Hassiba Ben Bouali, also became widely recognised for their contributions during the war. Bouhred joined the FLN in her twenties and became active within its military wing, where she took part in several notable operations against the colonial entity. Following her arrest in 1957, she was subjected to brutal torture that became internationally condemned, leading to a global campaign that demanded her release. Ben Bouali, who also joined the war effort as a student activist, worked alongside revolutionary fighters such as Ali La Pointe. At just 19 years old, she, along with La Pointe and their comrades, were martyred when the French occupation targeted their hideout in La Casbah. Today, she is remembered in Algeria as an everlasting symbol of resilience and sacrifice. 

Across the war effort, women assumed both combatant and non-combatant roles. While some provided medical aid and food for soldiers, others worked on the frontlines to gather intel and carry out attacks. A significant number of these women operated out of La Casbah, Algiers’ ancient quarters. Through narrow alleys and infrastructure akin to a fortress, they smuggled weapons and medicine under haiks (traditional veils) and passed on intel to the FLN. 

The veil itself, which the colonial regime heavily fixated on, became a revolutionary statement, especially in response to the infamous ‘unveiling campaigns’ that aimed to humiliate Algerian women and separate them from their cultural identities by forcibly removing their veils.

Through these public unveilings, the French sought to replace the traditional customs of Algeria with their so-called modernisation project, all while claiming to act in the best interests of Algerian women by “emancipating them.” In reality, the French were using these campaigns as one of their propagandistic tools to legitimise the occupation. 

While touting themselves as the bastions of feminism, they were, within the same breath, abusing Algerian women, often through sexual violence, torture and manipulation. The unveiling campaigns were merely a fraction of the broader violence inflicted upon Algerian society.

In A Dying Colonialism, philosopher and anti-colonial theorist Franz Fanon argued that the French colonial entity laid out a doctrine that believed they could only truly conquer Algeria if they first ‘conquered’ its women,  especially through the paternalistic removal of the veil. “If we want to destroy the structure of Algerian society… we must first of all conquer the women; we must go and find them behind the veil where they hide,” he wrote. The obsession with the bodies of Algerian women was reflective of the occupation’s desire to thoroughly dominate. By subjugating its women, they believed they could fully capture Algeria and destroy its very essence from within. 

At the time, not only were Algerian women facing the brunt of colonialism, but the internal confines of patriarchy as well. In her article, historian Zahia Smail Salhi argued that women’s participation [in the war] was a major vehicle of change in the way they challenged patriarchy, changed the concept of honour, and in the way they helped change world opinion towards the Algerian revolution. Refusing to be seen as passive bystanders, the women of the resistance were strengthened in their resolve and fought for a sense of autonomy in a landscape that desired to take it from them. In doing so, they became a central force of the revolution as the fire of self-determination burned within them.

History often reveres victory, but seldom the women who made it possible. The path to liberation was gruelling– paved with blood, courage, and sacrifice. And for years, Algerian women led and sustained a movement that became eternally embedded in the fabric of their country. Not only did Algerian resistance shape the destiny of a nation, it also set forth a precedent for anti-colonial and feminist movements across the globe. As Algeria celebrates 63 years of independence, let us honour the women, named and unnamed, who fought tirelessly for it. Their work is not to be eclipsed by the shadow of history–their stories must live on and echo through the hearts of generations to come.