Algerian Feminists Navigate Authoritarianism
Algerian feminists, who are committed to advancing human rights and women’s rights, oddly supported the authoritarian rule of President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika and viewed him as the best option available to women. In this chapter, Maro Youssef argues that secular Algerian feminists are not passive victims of patriarchy but rather active agents and complex subjects who negotiate and renegotiate their contract with the state to advance their interests. She explores how feminists’ position is founded in their fear of the Islamists and their beliefs that Bouteflika is capable of preventing Islamists from regaining power. By aligning their efforts with the state, women believe that they can stop Islamists from reversing the rights that women have already achieved or imposing their conservative version of Islam on the Algerian society.