Women in the Hirak (1/2)

16.11.2021

Written by Inès Daoudi

Translated by Barbara Sika Kudjawu

The announcement of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s candidacy for the presidential elections in early February 2019 was a major blow to Algerians. To express their discontent, thousands of people took to the streets to demand the resignation of the man they considered incapable of representing them. These multiple non-violent demonstrations that took place on Fridays and Tuesdays became known as the Hirak, a movement in Arabic. Many women took part, whether they were long-time activists, recently involved in feminist struggles or whether it was the first time they took to the streets. Taking full grip of the public space, they demanded democracy and equality between women and men.
The analysis of the position of women in the Hirak and the repercussions they experienced is outlined in two articles. The first defines the Hirak and particularly focuses on the contextual environment in which it took place. It also examines how the Hirak enabled women to fully occupy the public sphere. The second article describes the violence that these women experienced, both during the demonstrations and on social networking sites, as well as their demands for the establishment of a democratic and egalitarian society.

The Hirak, a movement born from a wake-up call

On February 10, 2019, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika once again announces his candidacy for a fifth term in the April 2019 presidential elections. Weary of being represented by a president considered corrupt and unfit for office, Algerians took to the streets on February 22, 2019, to demand the removal of the regime that has ruled since independence with slogans such as: ” Get them all out of here! ” and ” Throw the generals in the garbage! ^[1]Omar Benderra, et al., « Introduction » dans Hirak en Algérie, l’invention d’un soulèvement, Paris, La Fabrique Éditions, 2020, p 7 URL … Continue reading”. This movement, Hirak, is intended to be non-violent and quickly took on a new magnitude throughout the country, with thousands of demonstrators, of all ages, taking to the streets of the capital and major Algerian cities. They demand the resignation of the president and his government and defend a vision of citizenship that goes beyond existing political, social, and regional divisions^[2]International Crisis Group, Algeria: Easing the Lockdown for the Hirak?, Report n°217/Middle East North Africa, 27 July 2020 URL … Continue reading.The Hirak also expresses a collective desire to regain control of the public space^[3]International Crisis Group, Algeria: Easing the Lockdown for the Hirak?, Report n°217/Middle East North Africa, 27 July 2020 URL … Continue reading.Indeed, the latter has long remained inaccessible, notably because of the severe suppression of all forms of opposition, conducted by successive governments. Initially, the demonstrations took place on Fridays in various mosques, in reaction to the preaching of an imam supporting the regime^[4]Abir Kréfa et Amélie Le Renard, Genre & féminismes au Moyen-Orient & au Maghreb, Paris, Éditions Amsterdam, p 145-146, but this movement has rapidly involved students on Tuesdays. Thus, these two days became a time for gatherings between activists and also people who had never taken part in any political action. To support the Hirak, many Algerians organized themselves into local committees or neighbourhood associations. They had two main goals: raise awareness among their neighbours about what it means to be a citizen and make them conscious of the government’s corruption so that they could challenge it^[5]International Crisis Group, Algeria: Easing the Lockdown for the Hirak?, Report n°217/Middle East North Africa, 27 July 2020 URL … Continue reading. Although some differences have emerged (notably concerning Amazigh^[6]Amazigh is synonymous with Berber.identity), the movement was initially intended to be united in order to present a single opposition front to the government. The originality of the Hirak lies in its composition, which refuses any form of hierarchy, and promotes a horizontal decision-making structure without official representatives. Nevertheless, many long-time activists took part, including artists who supported the cause through songs. Another unique feature is “the non-violent power relationship vis-à-vis the military command, which was itself forced to exercise restraint^[7]Omar Benderra, et al., « Introduction » dans Hirak en Algérie, l’invention d’un soulèvement, Paris, La Fabrique Éditions, 2020, p 7 URL … Continue reading”. Indeed, if the Algerians have from the beginning adopted a peaceful posture, the government has refrained from using force.
However, two opposing branches were quickly distinguished: on the one hand, “the Democratic Pole, in search of a consensus and therefore in favour of negotiations with the authorities^[8]International Crisis Group, Algeria: Easing the Lockdown for the Hirak?, Report n°217/Middle East North Africa, 27 July 2020 URL … Continue reading”, and on the other hand, “the Forces of the democratic alternative pact, which rejected any discussion with the authorities and demanded a total dissolution “of the system” followed by a democratic transition including elections to a constituent assembly^[9]Ibid.”.

Towards a Feminization of the Public Space through the Hirak? 

This section examines the pivotal role played by the Hirak in the domination of the public space by women. It highlights the mobilization of these women, who are simultaneously different and similar, denounces the violence they encountered, and underlines the demands for which they are fighting. These women not only went out to demonstrate alongside men in the public space, but they also asked for their right to demonstrate as Algerian citizens, a right that they are denied because of their sex.

  ● A wake-up call to invest in the public sphere. 

At the onset of the movement, protests were heavily male-dominated, as they emerged from mosques and stadiums, major male sites of politicisation. As soon as the universities joined the movement, female participation increased^[10]TV5 Monde Info, Algérie/Hirak : les femmes ont tout à gagner – Amélie Le Renard, 21/02/2020 URLhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUABdvG3v1E&ab_channel=TV5MONDEInfo (Accessed: 21/03/21) . Even though, there are accounts of women’s participation in the protests. That said, there are accounts of family or social pressures that prevented many women from joining the marches because they lacked permission or resources to access urban city centres^[11]Ghaliya Djelloul, « Femmes et Hirak : pratiques de « desserrement » collectif et d’occupation citoyenne de l’espace public », Mouvements, 2020/2 (n°102), p 85 URL … Continue reading. Some women had to cover their tracks to gain access to the marches. Others had to cover their faces to avoid being recognized by their families^[12]Ibid., p 85. In spite of this, there was a significant increase in female participation on the third Friday of the demonstrations as it coincided with International Women’s Rights Day. Women came to take part in this double event (in medium-sized cities, women remain numerically secondary and only participate in the marches from balconies and windows^[13]Ibid., p 86. Many women demanded the abolition or at least the reform of the Family Code^[14]The Family Code, adopted in 1984, brings together a set of rules that determine family relations in Algeria. Dubbed the “Code of Infamy” by Algerian feminists, its reform in 2005 was … Continue readingand gender equality.
Thus, this movement helped women from different social strata and of all ages to take to the streets, to go out, to connect, and to exchange^[15]RFI, Le Hirak en Algérie, le rôle des femmes et des images, 17 mars 2020 URL https://www.facebook.com/RFI/videos/208744570473991 (Accessed: 21/03/21) . It is important to note that the commitment of women in Algeria has deep roots, as during the demands in Kabylia in 2001 or during the war of independence with the mujahedin. It is important to emphasise that the commitment of women in Algeria has deep roots, such as during the demands in Kabylia in 2001 or during the war of independence with the Mujahidin between 1954 and 1962^[16]Mujahidi (feminine form of mujahid) is the official title for women who fought for Algerian independence.. In the 1990s, the Algerian feminist movement was first constituted under the name of “women’s movement”, because some did not want to use the terminology “feminist^[17]Habiba Djahnine, « Une poétique féministe de l’Algérie en lutte », Mouvements, 2020/2 (n°102), p 179, URL https://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2020-2-page-177.htm (Accessed: 21/03/21) ”. Today, this notion seems to be more asserted and proclaim their radical feminism loud and clear. According to Habiba Djahnine, film producer, writer and feminist essayist, being a feminist is already radical in itself. She explains that behind this notion of radicalism, the idea of the body and its liberation is present^[18]Ibid.. As soon as students mobilized in the Hirak, female students in Bouira chanted “down with the system that oppresses women”, because, for them, the abolition of the “system” and the oppression of women form a single cause^[19]Abir Kréfa et Amélie Le Renard, Genre & féminismes au Moyen-Orient & au Maghreb, Paris, Éditions Amsterdam, p 147. In addition, the launch of the campaign “20 ans Barakat” (“20 years is enough”) consists of a compilation of songs demanding the abolition of the Family Code. Thus, according to Habiba Djahnine’s analysis, there is clearly a double liberation of Algerian women, with the desire to free their bodies from government’s control and themselves from a sexist and chauvinist society, which still considers women as inferior to men. This liberation must be understood as much at the micro-social level as at the macro-social level: to exist as a woman is played at all levels.
Moreover, if violence has never stopped women from participating in social movements, it seems clear that the peaceful aspect of the movement encouraged their participation. Silmiya, peaceful, being a real practice, has “become a method of work and a way of being present in the street, a way of being^[20]Habiba Djahnine, « Une poétique féministe de l’Algérie en lutte », Mouvements, 2020/2 (n°102), p 190, URL https://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2020-2-page-177.htm (Accessed: 21/03/21) ”.  Similarly, “the presence of women in the street imposes the preservation of the peaceful aspect. We are in a society that sanctifies women as “mothers”, whether in the eyes of the demonstrators or of the law enforcement agencies^[21]Karim Kebir, La femme, un acteur majeur du Hirak, Liberté Algérie, 08/03/2020, URL https://www.liberte-algerie.com/actualite/la-femme-un-acteur-majeur-du-hirak-335404 (Accessed: 21/03/21) ”. The feminist journalist, Tin-Hinane Makaci, analyses the presence of these women in the public space as a political force that goes beyond their function as mothers or sisters. This “conquest” of the public space does not mean that women have become demobilized. Conversely, according to Feriel Lalami Fates, a doctor of sociology, “the past two decades have not favoured the implementation of strategies to occupy the public space.[…] Despite this, they continued to adapt to political realities that were very constraining for them^[22]Florian Delorme, Algérie : vers un nouveau départ, épisode 3 : Féminismes : anciens combats, nouveaux espoirs, France Culture, 19/02/2020, URL … Continue reading”.

  ● The creation of feminist squares, third-party sites favourable to women

The Hirak, therefore, marks a turning point for these women reclaiming the public sphere through their presence and the sharing of ideas and grievances disseminated through the formation of feminist squares.
As of March 16, 2019, the initiative was established under the collective name Algerian Women for a Change towards Equality (FACE) in Algiers. This collective encourages Algerian women to participate in demonstrations and to make their demand for equality and their will to put an end to the patriarchal and misogynistic system more visible^[23]RFI, Le Hirak en Algérie, le rôle des femmes et des images, 17 mars 2020 URL https://www.facebook.com/RFI/videos/208744570473991 (Accessed: 21/03/21) . The goal here is to allow women to walk together and to regroup. Furthermore, the first feminist square in Algiers was set up on March 22, followed by those in Béjaïa in June and in Oran in October 2019. Added to this, feminist groups are formed and organized in Annaba, Constantine, Tizi Ouzou and Bouira, displaying their banners, demonstrating and putting forward their grievances. Drawing from Habiba Djahnine’s reflections, the word “feminism” is well established, asserted and embodies women’s claims while being part of a continuity of struggles carried by Algerian women for decades. Indeed, it seems obvious to Habiba Djahnine that if the young generations of women have become feminists it is because they have understood the demands of their elders^[24]Habiba Djahnine, « Une poétique féministe de l’Algérie en lutte », Mouvements, 2020/2 (n°102), p 179, URL https://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2020-2-page-177.htm (Accessed: 21/03/21) .
In addition, other women’s groups such as the mothers of missing persons from the 1990s as well as the mothers of people who went missing at sea also joined the movement. Their presence is indicative of genuine female solidarity, because despite differences in history, these women, often older, accompany the activists who defend their rights for an egalitarian Algerian society. It is interesting to note that these groups of women are joined by young men, often soccer fans who animate the demonstrations. They often stop and embrace these women on their foreheads, sing songs to encourage them, to express the recognition of the missing persons, and to share their pain^[25]Ibid., p 185. These women feel acknowledged because they are not alone. Their participation in the demonstrations is a source of strength to support their cause.

In the 1960s, Algerian women had to fight to prove that they existed. Today, their presence cannot be denied: they are lawyers, surgeons, ministers, etc. However, it is as if they were “still in that place where one had to find one’s good morals to exist in society or do twice as much to have access to an academic position^[26]Habiba Djahnine, « Une poétique féministe de l’Algérie en lutte », Mouvements, 2020/2 (n°102), p 182-183, URL https://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2020-2-page-177.htm (Accessed: 21/03/21) ’’. Such changes have been expressed through the Hirak, a movement that resulted from an uprising of the Algerian population in the face of yet another feeling of exasperation following the candidacy of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and which has allowed a true reclamation of the public space by Algerian women. They are considered today as real stakeholders of this movement.
What is also interesting about the Hirak are the intergenerational encounters, the link between old and new experiences, between groups that existed before the movement and others that were born with it. This nationwide momentum has shaped the dynamics and gender issues of the protests. Indeed, although we are witnessing a change in Algerian society, many (and mainly those in power) fear these developments, particularly in terms of the claims present in the collective imagination and in society, on the cultural and professional level, on the level of gender relations and within the Algerian family sphere^[27]Ibid., p 180.

To cite this article: Inès Daoudi, “Women in the Hirak (1/2)”, 16.11.2021, Gender in Geopolitics Institute.

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.