The situation of women and feminists in the Algerian Civil War

MoniqueGadant: ''The Situation of Women and Feminists in the Algerian Civil War''. Contrary to what Algerian women might have hoped to achieve as a consequence of their participation in the liberation war, their condition has not improved with the independence of Algeria. As a matter of fact, nationalists of every political affiliation have interpreted the subordinate status of women as one of the foundations of their difference from the colonizer and thus of Algerian identity, as defined by Islam. The governments in power since 1962 have held to this line and have officialized the subjection of women by adopting the Family Code in 1984. Since the birth of the Islamist movements, the power structure has tried, however, to appear modernistic and favorable to women's emancipation Women, with their demands, are therefore completely caught up in the murderous rivalry among the various political factions and are pressured into support for one or another camp, in a civil war situation where appeals for discussion and negotiation are denounced as so many betrayals.