Interview with IssA, Algerian Anarcha-feminist Activist
From liberté ouvrière, on 26 septembre 2024
You are a feminist activist in Algeria, and the country is currently going through a huge popular movement, the Hirak, which has been going on for over 2 years, stopped for a while during the pandemic and is now starting again... How do you fit into it as a feminist? We talk a lot about the "feminist square".
The country experienced a social revolution that began on February 22, 2019, and it is by far its spontaneous, independent, but nevertheless coordinated character that propelled the various social demands. We see an Algeria that can be plural, and how this plurality can constitute a determined, peaceful force, in the face of a devastating power. Maturity and social solidarity have created a break within the system in place. And this fault is the popular movement, it is the Hirak.
As a feminist activist and militant, I bring my own demands as a citizen to this popular movement. My demands are for the moment purely feminist because the emergency in my opinion remains women, and no fraction of the earth can be truly free, without women being so in turn. As a result, I campaign against all forms of sexist domination, including patriarchal domination which remains omnipresent in our society and which takes root in all spheres of life. Concerning the feminist square, although I campaign within a feminist association, I remain independent, and I join the march among the hirakists without distinction or registration of any kind: today I can march alongside the socialists, tomorrow alongside the communists, that does not make me a socialist, nor a communist, but an independent citizen, in my own right, who fights alongside the various minorities.
In the street, during the marches, how was the specific statement of the feminists in the street understood? Some "progressives" said that we had to be united above all against the system and that this was not the time. What do you think about that?
Yes, of course, and this is by far my greatest disappointment both as a human being and as a citizen. We are constantly told that "this is not the time" and this has been the case since independence. That said, having learned from history, we will not let past mistakes be repeated. Our demands are part of both urgency and survival. There is no democracy without equality, otherwise it is a big farce. So at some point we have to stop: and those who come to thwart our demands should learn about the meaning that democracy conveys.
The fight remains tough, because by asserting opinions that do not fit into any current of thought in Algeria, we already feel very alone. But from there to seeing pseudo-progressives silence the most basic demands is extremely infuriating.
What is the current situation of women in Algeria?
It is difficult and violent. The recent and terrible attack on nine female teachers in Bordj Badji Mokhtar bears witness to this. Violence against women is a universal problem that affects millions of women around the world, regardless of their culture, social background or level of education.
We even have difficulty getting the word "femicide" recognized. It must be recognized in the media. This is also my fight, as a journalist and as a feminist... The increase in investigations into this reality, the pressure from women's movements and human rights associations could lead to significant progress in legislation if the mobilization were stronger, if we were better supported.
In Algeria, existing data is rare and quite fragmentary. Some statistics nevertheless exist, and come from the associative world. These have provided information showing that here, as elsewhere, it is within the family space that women are most exposed to various forms of violence. The family code condemns women in and outside the family unit to be minors for life. For example, inequality in inheritance, with women only being entitled to a small share, means that their economic situation is "almost" never equal to that of a man. All that remains for them is empowerment, the conquest of economic independence, and it takes a lot of courage to leave their home, study for a long time and work afterwards. Most end up getting married under the various economic and social pressures and become tools of reproduction. This is the very principle of patriarchy. Another study shows that Algeria has the highest rate of female engineers in the world while there are only 18% of women in the labor market.
We could talk about 3 major historical moments in the struggle of Algerian women: that of the Moudjahidat, of the "twenty years barakat" generation, and yours, that of social networks, of hyper connectivity. What is your link with this rather recent past?
For my part, I am a direct descendant of the generation that chanted "repeal of the family code" rather than the one that chanted "amendment". There is no possible amendment in what is a code of contempt. I regret that this has created cracks in the Algerian feminist movement. After all these years, and after the experiences lived, some are still struggling in vain to obtain marginal changes. The situation of women has not really improved. There is therefore continuity with the action of "twenty years barakat" (twenty years of family code is enough) undertaken by the associations SOS women in distress and Tharwa N'Fadhma N'Soumer, of which I am a member.
Are there new feminist issues? New demands?
Yes, of course. For example, there is the emergence of another feminist struggle, that of Eco-feminism. More than ever, we are faced with systemic crises whose origins and roots are deep, and there is the need in which we find ourselves to provide a response. This structural crisis seriously compromises the ecological systems that make life possible. This represents a serious threat to the livelihoods and rights of peoples. We know that when water systems are threatened, the fundamental right to water is also threatened. When monocultures increase, biodiversity is lost or when climate change is exacerbated, food production is threatened. We must dismantle the system of oppression and exploitation that is also reproduced in nature. What is new is that we are making the link between patriarchal domination, its violence, its contempt, and the uncontrolled, productivist, in a word capitalist, domination over nature.
You are part of an association, which one?
Yes, as I told you, I am part of the feminist association Tharwa N'Fadhma N'Soumer (you said who this woman was).
It was created by two tireless feminist activists, Ourida and Yasmina Chouaki in 1997 for the repeal of the Family Code and the establishment of civil and egalitarian laws.
For almost two years, we have brought a new form of organization that is innovative in Algeria. Many associations are organized in a very hierarchical and pyramidal way. We have organized ourselves into a collegiate office, with a rotating presidency, which also allows new activists to assert themselves in the struggle and to acquire certain mechanisms both on the ground and by having access to training like the "old ones".
Are there many feminist associations? Do they exist throughout the country? What are their differences? Do they work together?
Yes, certainly, there are many feminist associations on Algerian territory, the most flagrant difference that exists between these associations, as I said, is linked to the demands concerning the Family Code; some are radical and demand its pure and simple repeal, while others opt for reform by demanding for example simply the repeal of articles of law. However, it is the very existence of this code that legitimizes the overwhelming domination of patriarchy.
Our association works extensively in collaboration with the feminist association FARD Algerian Women Claiming Their Rights, present in Oran, or the feminist association Assirem yellis n'Djerdjer of Tizi-Ouzou who share the same values and the same demands.
You define yourself as an anarchist. I know few people who define themselves as such in Algeria. What does that mean to you? It must not be obvious.
The path is very long to truly be one, but I am working on it and I am tending towards this philosophy of life because it constitutes for me the solution to all our ills. Over time we have seen the damage caused by the vertical organization of society, and humans continue to run towards their own end by remaining in devastating positions.
Being an anarchist and feminist in Algeria "Anarchaféministe" is a daily struggle since this fraction of the earth is the cradle of everything that anarchy condemns, this means preparing oneself for a certain solitude: I am talking about the solitude of the spirit.
How did you learn about this political philosophy? There is no anarchist political movement in Algeria.
The first time I heard about anarchism I was still a teenager. An inveterate lover of erudition, knowledge in all its forms, during my research activities, I encountered this philosophy that immediately won me over. As I read between history and definitions, passing through figures such as Louise Michel, Élisée Reclus, Bakunin and many others, documenting myself on what this notion was until then ignored, I stopped feeling alone.
In Algeria, although I have already come across some people on my path who define themselves as anarchists, to date I have not encountered any political movement that subscribes to this vision.
What link do you make between feminism and class struggle?
Feminism aspires to free itself from subjugation to the patriarchal system, which constitutes by far the very first hierarchy and manifestation in Algerian society of the domination of men over women. Thus, the fight against patriarchy for the emancipation of women is inseparable from all the struggles against the exploitation of humans by humans, against economic oppression, the State and against the system in place that has been eating away at the country since independence. Freedom and justice are a whole that cannot be fragmented.
What link do you make between anarchism and feminism?
In my opinion, anarchism and feminism are intrinsically linked since both challenge any form of subjugation of hierarchy and domination between one human person over another human person. Anarchy advocates a decision-making process that is intended to be egalitarian, participatory, and consensual. Feminism fights against the oppression and domination of women by men and for their emancipation by establishing equality between the sexes. Also, feminism insists that the decision-making process be deliberative and consensual. For these reasons, anarchism cannot contradict feminism and vice versa.
