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France 24
France 24
World

Women of the resistance: The heroines of Algeria's fight for independence

THE 51 PERCENT © Nadja Makhlouf

Sixty years after the Évian Accords put an end to Algeria's bloody war of independence, we take a look at the role of women at that pivotal time. Professor Zahia Smail Salhi tells us how female fighters, informants and special agents were key in the National Liberation Movement and how those women were swiftly forgotten in the post-colonial landscape.

Our reporters explore the taboos surrounding sexual violence as a weapon of war, and we discuss the subsequent culture of silence that has hampered Algerian feminism.

And we find out more about the filmmakers and photographers shining a light on resistance heroines in their work, as a new generation of Algerian women are inspired to take to the streets, calling for gender equality to be enshrined in the law.

Sixty years after the Évian Accords, Algerians and French recall the trauma of the war and its aftermath.
Sixty years after the Évian Accords, Algerians and French recall the trauma of the war and its aftermath. © Studio Graphique – France Médias Monde
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