Algerian women, citizenship, and the ‘Family Code’
Overview
Women’s struggle for both equality and national liberation are crucial to democracy: if a democratic state is one in which citizens have the right to participate in society and the way it is governed, women must, automatically, be included in the equation. Yet in many so-called democratic states, women lack full citizenship. This article traces Algerian women’s struggle for full citizenship after the national liberation struggle ended in 1962. The Algerian Family Code, which became law in 1984, proclaims women to be minors under the law, and defines them as existing only in so far as they are daughters, mothers, or wives. Algerian women are demanding that the government repeal the Family Code; challenging patriarchal values that prevail in Algerian society; and resisting and fighting Islamic fundamentalism.
This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis. For the full table of contents for this and previous issues of this journal, please visit the Gender and Development website.
Keywords
Additional details
Author(s)
How to cite this resource
Citation styles vary so we recommend you check what is appropriate for your context. You may choose to cite Oxfam resources as follows:
Author(s)/Editor(s). (Year of publication). Title and sub-title. Place of publication: name of publisher. DOI (where available). URL
Our FAQs page has some examples of this approach.