Algeria: El Moudjahid Forum on Women

La Tribune, 5.7.09
A debate yesterday, organized by the daily El Moudjahid, centered on the presence of women in the public sphere. Mrs. Francoise Halimi, Vice President of the Association of Women Heads of Enterprise, noted that the emancipation of women, and an active public life, has permitted them to ameliorate their families’ standard of living.

Morocco: In Morccco, breaking down barriers in the Arab world

boston.com Passport
By Fatema Haji-Taki

May 5, 2009

IFRANE, Morocco -- For the past five days, a group of Moroccan students and young-adult activists from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria have been working intensely together in workshops building bridges among themselves and improving skills for creating interfaith community programs in their own countries.

From working to ease interfaith tensions in Egypt and Yemen to advancing women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, these activists are dedicated to sharing their expertise and acquiring new skills on how to effectively plan events, launch campaigns, and secure funding for their field work to promote religious and political freedom in their countries. The workshops emphasize how to translate their online activism to real-world organizing and leadership skills that participants can put to work in practical ways in their home communities.

Ironically, some participants were unable to attend because their visa applications were not approved in time, or, in the case of a prominent Baha’i activist from Egypt, it became too dangerous for her to travel. The empty seats were a stark reminder of the lack of religious and political freedom in most Arab countries.

Jesse Sage, Nasser Weddady and Lauren Murphy from Hands Across the Middle East Support Alliance, a Boston-based nonprofit, and I organized and are facilitating the conference, “Interfaith Leadership Seminar: From the Virtual to the Real World,” at Al Akhawayn University, an English-language college in Ifrane.

Jewish in the Arab world

During the conference the participants met Moroccan Raphael Elmaleh, believed to be the only Jewish tour guide in the Arab world. He is also a founder of the only Jewish museum in the Arab world in Casablanca. Elmaleh’s passion in life is to research the Jewish heritage of Morocco and restore the synagogues and other sites that were left behind by the Jews more than 40 years ago.

“I’m proud to be a Jew in an Arab country,” he says. On Sunday, all the participants had a chance to visit Fez while he showed us the old Jewish Quarter and the cemeteries and the synagogues left behind. For many, this was the first time they had been exposed to the Jewish heritage in an Arab country. By the end of the day, the bond that he created with the rest of the group was heartening.

At first, he acknowledged he was nervous talking about his work to a group of Arab young people from across the Middle East whom he had never met before. But working with the group for two days has changed his mind and he is excited to talk about how Jews and Muslims coexisted peacefully in Morocco and what that means for the future. During dinner yesterday, all of the participants gave him a standing ovation for his dedication while the Moroccan students sang the national anthem. The expression on Elmaleh’s face was invaluable.

Freedom of the press in Yemen

Unfortunately, on Monday, we also learned that an independent newspaper run by one of the Yemeni participants, Abdullah Abdulwahab Naji Qaid, was shut down by Yemeni authorities. Abdullah is a founding member and the General Activity Supervisor of the al-Tagheer Organization for Rights and Freedom Defense, an NGO based in Yemen. He has previously participated in seminars on religious freedom which addressed discrimination against Yemen's Zaidi community.


(Fatema Haji-Taki/UUSC photo)

Yemeni journalist Abdullah Abdulwahab Naji Qaid

When the news broke, the mood among all of us turned solemn. It was a grave reminder of the difficult circumstances these activists work in and the challenges ahead of them after they return home. As the night wore on, the solidarity between all of us for Qaid’s work was palpable. Many are working to organize a campaign for him while others are planning to spread the word through Facebook, their blogs and other online networks.

As a non-Arab Muslim-American human rights activist, I am humbled by the work of my peers. Through the last few days, I’ve seen them work together, debate their differences, sing and dance together. They have created a support network for each other. They are all invested in each others’ success because they all are committed to religious and political freedom in the Arab world.

What they have experienced together as a team will stay with them for the rest of their lives. As they go back, they will face obstacles and there will be times when they will want to give up. My only hope is they will remember the solidarity they experienced this past week and keep soldiering on because they are the future leaders of the Arab world.

Algeria: Women's Movement Still Going Strong

Samia Allalou
Common Ground News
April 27, 2009

Those who think that Algerians have been passive victims of their country's political problems need look no further than the Algerian women's movement for a change of mind. Twenty-five years ago, a unique relationship developed between Algeria and the non-profit organization, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (W.L.U.M.L.), which is going strong even today.

W.L.U.M.L. provides assistance to women whose lives are governed by so-called "Islamic" laws or customs. The organization opposes the use of faith to further political causes and builds awareness of women's rights violations committed in the name of Islam.

In 1984, Algerian women watched in amazement as the government passed a law that institutionalized women's legal status as "minors." Women had demonstrated against the ratification of this law for more than two decades, believing it stood in stark opposition to Article 29 of the Algerian constitution, which declares, "Citizens are equal before the law, regardless of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other condition of personal or social circumstance."

Algerian feminists responded immediately. Demonstrations against the law intensified and three women were put in solitary confinement without proper investigation or trial. In reaction to this injustice, nine women from Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Mauritius, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Pakistan founded W.L.U.M.L. to support the struggles of these women in Algeria and elsewhere.

W.L.U.M.L. member Marieme Helie Lucas, an Algerian sociologist, recalled: "The three Algerian women were released within a month and a half of campaigning, with telegrams arriving on the president's desk from everywhere in the world."

The non-profit organization continued playing an important role in Algeria during the civil war in the 1990's between the outlawed political party, the Islamic Salvation Front (F.I.S.), and the Algerian government. Despite the difficult environment, women continued the struggle to reinstate their legal rights as equal citizens while simultaneously enduring indiscriminate violence as a result of the war.

W.L.U.M.L. provided these Algerian women with a platform to voice their frustrations by inviting them to participate in international conferences, including the United Nations' World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, where they could publicly denounce the crimes against women that the F.I.S. and other armed Algerian groups had committed. Work on behalf of Algerian women continued even when violence from the war gradually lessened and international focus was diverted elsewhere.

In January 1999, the Algerian government presented its official report on discrimination against women to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. In response, the W.L.U.M.L. and New York University's International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic collaborated on an unofficial report outlining "the rise and ongoing threat of politicized, violent religious fundamentalism [in Algeria] and its project to impose its particular view of Islam through the theocratization of the state and/or through violence and terror."

In 2001, female workers in the small Algerian town of Hassi Messaoud were savagely assaulted by a crowd of 300 men following a sermon by an extremist imam at the local mosque. W.L.U.M.L. encouraged international networks to respond to the incident by sending letters to the Algerian government. Along with several Algerian human and women's rights associations, they pressed for the defendants to be tried in court. Several perpetrators were convicted and found guilty in 2004, and the assaulted women were formally acknowledged as victims.

More recently, Cherifa Kheddar, the chair of Djazairouna, an association of families that are victims of terrorism, was threatened in 2008 with unfair dismissal and continuous harassment by Algerian authorities after she revealed to the public the government's reconciliation policy (the Law on Civil Concord) with armed Islamic political groups, including the Islamic Salvation Army (A.I.S.), the Armed Islamic Group (G.I.A.) and the Islamic Front for Armed Defense (F.I.D.A.), and for speaking out about crimes committed but pardoned without trial.

In the end, the government suspended Kheddar from her position, although it never formally dismissed her from the job. After a nomination bid from W.L.U.M.L., Cherifa was awarded the International Prize for Human Rights by the International Service Human Rights Awards on Dec. 8, 2008.

Today, the international spotlight is no longer on Algeria, but W.L.U.M.L. remains watchful of discrimination against Algerian women. This unfailing support of W.L.U.M.L.'s international network provides women's movements in the country with the necessary strength to stand up to all kinds of pressure and to continue the difficult path towards full acceptance of women's rights in Algeria and beyond.

Algeria: Algerian feminists going strong.

Pakistan Christian Post
By Samia Allalou

Those who think that Algerians have been passive victims of their country's political problems need look no further than the Algerian women's movement for a change of mind. Twenty-five years ago, a unique relationship developed between Algeria and the non-profit organisation, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), which is going strong even today.

WLUML provides assistance to women whose lives are governed by so-called "Islamic" laws or customs. The organisation opposes the use of faith to further political causes and builds awareness of women's rights violations committed in the name of Islam.

In 1984, Algerian women watched in amazement as the government passed a law that institutionalised women's legal status as "minors". Women had demonstrated against the ratification of this law for more than two decades, believing it stood in stark opposition to Article 29 of the Algerian constitution, which declares, "Citizens are equal before the law, regardless of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other condition of personal or social circumstance".

Algerian feminists responded immediately. Demonstrations against the law intensified and three women were put in solitary confinement without proper investigation or trial. In reaction to this injustice, nine women from Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Mauritius, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Pakistan founded WLUML to support the struggles of these women in Algeria and elsewhere.

WLUML member Marieme Helie Lucas, an Algerian sociologist, recalled: "The three Algerian women were released within a month and a half of campaigning, with telegrams arriving on the president's desk from everywhere in the world."

WLUML continued playing an important role in Algeria during the civil war in the 1990s between the outlawed political party, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and the Algerian government. Despite the difficult environment, women continued the struggle to reinstate their legal rights as equal citizens while simultaneously enduring indiscriminate violence as a result of the war.

WLUML provided these Algerian women with a platform to voice their frustrations by inviting them to participate in international conferences, including the United Nations' World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, where they could publicly denounce the crimes against women that the FIS and other armed Algerian groups had committed.

WLUML continued to work on behalf of Algerian women even when violence from the war gradually lessened and international focus was diverted elsewhere.

In January 1999, the Algerian government presented its official report on discrimination against women to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. In response, the WLUML and New York University's International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic collaborated on an unofficial report outlining "the rise and ongoing threat of politicized, violent religious fundamentalism [in Algeria] and its project to impose its particular view of Islam through the theocratization of the state and/or through violence and terror".

In 2001, female workers in the small Algerian town of Hassi Messaoud were savagely assaulted by a crowd of 300 men following a sermon by an extremist imam at the local mosque. WLUML encouraged international networks to respond to the incident by sending letters to the Algerian government. Along with several Algerian human and women's rights associations, they pressed for the defendants to be tried in court.

Several perpetrators were convicted and found guilty in 2004, and the assaulted women were formally acknowledged as victims.

More recently, Cherifa Kheddar, the chair of Djazairouna, an association of families that are victims of terrorism, was threatened in 2008 with unfair dismissal and continuous harassment by Algerian authorities after she revealed to the public the government's reconciliation policy (the Law on Civil Concord) with armed Islamic political groups, including the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Islamic Front for Armed Defence (FIDA), and for speaking out about crimes committed but pardoned without trial.

In the end, the government suspended Kheddar from her position, although it never formally dismissed her from the job. After a nomination bid from WLUML, Cherifa was awarded the International Prize for Human Rights by the International Service Human Rights Awards on 8 December 2008.

Today, the international spotlight is no longer on Algeria, but WLUML remains watchful of discrimination against Algerian women. This unfailing support of WLUML's international network provides women's movements in the country with the necessary strength to stand up to all kinds of pressure and to continue the difficult path towards full acceptance of women's rights in Algeria and beyond.

Algeria: Women of the Streets, on the Bench of Algerian Society

Le Monde, 04.21.09
Many women, often victims of forced marriages, incest, divorces, pregnancy or a relationship outside of marriage, take to the streets. They often have children, and are excluded from society after having been disowned by their family. This has enormous repercussions on the status of Algerian society and the Algerian family: “a society in crisis is born of a family in crisis.”

Algeria: Algeria's women like a 'class apart' at the polls

Apr 8, 2009

ALGIERS (AFP) — Nesrine and Rym, two students at a marketing college, have each been to the theatre only once in their lives and almost as rarely to the cinema, seen as a place Algeria's women should not frequent.

Neither will vote in Thursday's presidential election, they told AFP, since they do not expect that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will do much for women on winning a third term, which is a foregone conclusion.

Many Algerian women feel like a class apart, a view reflected in the way city streets empty of all but men after shops and offices close at night, though women form a large part of the workforce.

"Algerian women are subject to a curfew that has never been officially decreed, but which is an crying reality," says 20-year-old Imane Ghezali, the daughter of a journalist and a teacher.

Her parents are modernists by general standards, and Ghezali with her long brown hair seizes occasions to go out without fearing the wrath of the family and social opproprium if she does.

Sometimes she visits the only bowling alley in the whole of the north African country, which is located in an Algiers suburb. But each 30 minutes play there costs 2,000 dinars (27 dollars / 21 euros), which is 15 percent of the national monthly minimum wage.

Pressure on women from Islamic extremists has eased since the 1990s, when Algeria plunged into civil war waged by groups out to turn the secular state into a hardline Islamist one, but most women wear the hidjab, the robe that covers them from head to foot.

For some, given the rising cost of living in the oil-rich but economically distressed nation, the hidjab is a matter of convenience to hide poverty rather than an ostentatious sign of religious belief and means of avoiding "Satanic" lust.

Nesrine and Rym, who wear headscarves and discreet make-up around their eyes and lipstick, are also among those who feel privileged. Their parents, who are architects and teachers, are understanding and allow them to go out.

But go where? The three students say that the few cinemas in Algiers are dodgy venues. Short of places to be on their own together, young Algerians go to the cinema to steal kisses and caresses, but at the risk of being accused of debauchery.

Hopeful men also hang out at such places and the three girls said they prefer to avoid them rather than be hassled afterwards by insistent and creepy courtiers.

There are a few teashops that young Algerian women can go to and where they can also hang out with their boyfriends. However, their prices are too high for much of the population in a country that goes to the polls more concerned about recent inflation than the political aspects of Bouteflika's bid for a third term.

The tea-rooms keep spaces that are "reserved for families," which people know to mean that solitary young men will not be admitted.

But more often than not, young Algerians are resigned to "long-distance love" by mobile phone, Rym told AFP. About 17 million people in the country use cellphones, accounting for roughly a third of the population.

Sarah K, a journalist who works on the culture pages of an Algiers daily, confirmed that when youngsters want to step out, the number of places they can go is "derisory." For the vast majority of girls, family outings are the only ones they get and television is their one source of leisure.

The cafes, mosques and street corners are the nightly preserve of Algerian men.

Algeria: Louisa Hanoun: The Moment Has Come to Break with the System

La Tribune, 4.2.09
Defining herself as “a female politician who fights for real change against the political arm,” Louisa Hanoun has promised, if she receives the people’s mandate, that she will modify the Constitution. Notably, she expressed her desire to amend the Constitution to make the right to strike an inalienable right. She also announced that she would recognize Tamazight as “an official language alongside Arabic.”

http://www.latribune-online.com/evenement/14465.html

Algeria: Steps to Increase Elected Women Parliamentarians

ElAnnabi

The president heard yesterday the Minister of Justice to set up a commission to propose a draft organic law implementing the constitutional principles in favor of greater participation of women in elected assemblies in Algeria.

"J'instruis Minister of Justice to establish a commission like the one who worked on the amendments of the Family Code and whose mission will be to propose a draft organic law implementing the constitutional principles for greater participation of women in elected assemblies," said the President in his speech at a ceremony in honor of the Algerian woman, on the occasion of International Day of women.

The President has also decided to continue its policy to appoint women in positions that were previously dominated by men, like the positions Wali, Ambassador, university rector, president of court and member of the government. "I decided to deepen and continue the policy to appoint women in positions that were previously dominated by men, like the positions Wali, Ambassador, university rector, President of Court of Justice and member of the government, "said the head of state.

Moreover, President Bouteflika said he instructed the government to reserve a significant number of central positions of director and chairman of public women candidates who wish to access.

For President Bouteflika, the project remains "dependent" of the country's overall development because, he said, "anything that stimulates the fight against poverty, exclusion and illiteracy inevitably improves the status of women." He said in this regard, it is "difficult to advance women's access to positions parallel decisions without emphasizing that the responsibility of children and family obligations incumbent on them often, if not exclusively".

The Head of State has estimated that women are "not absent" in the political field and their presence in the political response to "a democratic necessity", since the latter, he said, make up half of the Algerian population and represent a "significant educational value." He added that the presence of women in government and Parliament would undoubtedly be strengthened, as he noted that women still occupy a place "too limited, especially for office.

The president noted, moreover, the role of women's associations, trade unions, political parties for the strengthening and modernization of political life, highlighting the role of "determinant" of the political in this sense. He believes, therefore, that it was "inconceivable and unacceptable" that the woman "is still ranked at the end of the lists", adding that "it is the will and the sincerity of political parties to encourage female candidates to positions that eligibility depends largely on the political participation of women. "

The Head of State also claims that the constitutional revision is a "great achievement" that must be "value", stressing that this achievement "requires continued work to improve the balance between man and Women ".

The Head of State emphasized that the latest legal sites available for the promotion of women's rights are "an achievement of size" it is important to emphasize. The latest legal sites, open "in order to restore the Algerians in their rights," particularly with regard to revision of the Family Code, the Nationality Code and the Constitution, are "an achievement of that size is important stressed, "said President Bouteflika.

He nevertheless stressed that the issues that affect the advancement of women are often "delicate and loaded with passion, the subject of endless controversy, preconceived ideas and prejudices unfounded." For him, the determination and courage shown by the Algerians to protect their rights "are no longer in doubt" and changing attitudes due to education and learning, "plays a decisive role in defend these rights. "

"Changing attitudes is crucial to the advancement of women and each gesture, who participates in this evolution should be welcomed, further stressed the President of the Republic, who noted that legal equality must be of effective equality "only likely to grant him an irreversible character."

Algeria: Associations: Family Code Aggravates Violence

Six Algerian associations came together Sunday in a community that has adopted a charter denouncing violence against women and promoting the struggle for “equal civil laws in all areas,” in the text sent to the press.

The charter of the Algerian associations against violence practised on women said that the inferiority of women institutionalized by the Family Code aggravates violence.

In addition, the education system leads to “alienation of society and women in particular” and “reproduce, often by the latter, backward social patterns”.

The violence can be “institutional, by the Family Code” or “physical, psychological, political, sexual and economic”, within the “family, society and workplace,” says the charter.

It lists “beatings, sexual abuse, confinement, forced marriages, psychological harassment, economic violence and sexual harassment at work and in schools.” It denounced the employment of little girls “no, or little, paid girls” called “trafficking”.

The associations call to fight for the adoption of egalitarian civil laws in all areas, an improvement of the criminal code regarding sexual harassment at work or the assumption by the state for victims of violence.

The charter also requires “the lifting of all reservations to international treaties and conventions against discrimination against women.”

The six associations: SOS Women in Distress, the Network Wassila, the women of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Djazaïrouna, Tharwa n'fatma N'soumer Women and the Committee of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) finally put in place procedures to work to make a real difference in society.

Adopted in 1984 and amended in 2005, the Family Code is often denounced by associations as being below the Constitution, which proclaims equality of each and all. The woman needs, for example, to marry, the presence of a tutor, from or out of her family.

Ennahar online/ M. O.

Algeria: Ministry of Education bans make-up in schools

The Algerian Ministry of Education devised a number of new disciplinary measures on December 13th affecting secondary schools. Memorandum 786 was sent to school principals in all 48 provinces, ordering them to ban pupils from wearing make-up and extravagant clothing on school premises.

The department of education warned that it will not tolerate any infringements of the new policy.

The memorandum is unequivocal: girls can no longer come to school wearing make-up or clothing deemed indecent. The memorandum will also oblige pupils of both sexes to wear smocks, as soon as the ministry finishes drafting the policy. Administrative staff and students are expected to comply with the policy as soon as they return from winter holidays next Saturday (January 3rd).

The decisions have sparked heated debate in Algeria between supporters and opponents.

In the wake of the controversy stirred up by the policy, Education Minister Aboubekeur Benbouzid explained that his department is merely enforcing the provisions of the law on educational guidance, and that he by no means is trying to restrict pupils' freedoms. Benbouzid also added, "In future, girls and boys will have to wear aprons of colours to be decided on by the ministry."

The president of the National Parents' Union prefers moderation. When interviewed by Magharebia, Mr. Mebarki Boualem said that "we should have moderation in all things. It's true that schools are places of education. … Of course abuses are to be condemned. Children who are well-mannered have nothing to fear. They are safe from the temptation to engage in excesses."

Saleha, a French teacher in a coeducational secondary school in Algiers, took a less relaxed view and strongly approved of the new measure. She told Magharebia, "I've been in education for over twenty years. … I must say that the current generation is very different. They behave as if they were much older. … I don't think you should come to school wearing make-up or extravagant clothes. Schools aren't catwalks. The same goes for boys. I think it was high time the ministry did something about it."

Most parents believe the memorandum is justified. Mustapha, the father of secondary school students Amel and Ramy, commented, "Girls come to school made up like adults. Others dress in very provocative ways. When I see them, I wonder whether they're coming to school to learn or for some other reason. When I heard that the ministry had decided to put an end to this situation, I welcomed the news."

Some parents, however, do not fully agree with the move. Naima, the mother of a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, stated, "By banning make-up and what it calls extravagant clothing, the Ministry of Education is sending out a message that you should judge a book by its cover. I don't think you can judge people by what they wear. I let my daughter dress the way she wants to. She wears a little make-up. That doesn't mean she has bad habits; I keep a careful eye on her. She's an excellent pupil."

Despite the criticism, the Ministry of Education plans to fully enforce the new measures.

By Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers

Algeria: Violence against Women: Tunisian Laws to Protect Algerians?

The President of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and the Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), Farouk Ksentini, foresees a more “severe” legislation guarding against violence against women in Algeria. He has proposed a law allowing the start of judicial processes on the simple testimony of a neighbor. Ksentini’s call comes two days before the International Day for Eliminating Violence Against Women, the 25 of November annually. Ksentini believes that “violence against women should be considered with an aggravating circumstance as it is the case in Tunisia.”

-- Le Quotidien d’Oran

Algeria: EU grant supports women's rights in Algeria

The EU will provide a 6m euro grant to Algeria to finance development projects, El Moudjahid reported on Wednesday (July 23rd). The majority of the funds will be used to promote women's rights.

---Magharebia

Algeria: In Algeria, a Tug of War for Young Minds

ALGIERS — First, Abdel Malek Outas’s teachers taught him to write math equations in Arabic, and embrace Islam and the Arab world. Then they told him to write in Latin letters that are no longer branded unpatriotic, and open his mind to the West.

Malek is 19, and he is confused.

“When we were in middle school we studied only in Arabic,” he said. “When we went to high school, they changed the program, and a lot is in French. Sometimes, we don’t even understand what we are writing.”

The confusion has bled off the pages of his math book and deep into his life. One moment, he is rapping; another, he recounts how he flirted with terrorism, agreeing two years ago to go with a recruiter to kill apostates in the name of jihad.

At a time of religious revival across the Muslim world, Algeria’s youth are in play. The focus of this contest is the schools, where for decades Islamists controlled what children learned, and how they learned, officials and education experts here said.

Now the government is urgently trying to re-engineer Algerian identity, changing the curriculum to wrest momentum from the Islamists, provide its youth with more employable skills, and combat the terrorism it fears schools have inadvertently encouraged.

It appears to be the most ambitious attempt in the region to change a school system to make its students less vulnerable to religious extremism.

But many educators are resisting the changes, and many disenchanted young men are dropping out of schools. It is a tense time in Algiers, where city streets are crowded with police officers and security checkpoints and alive with fears that Algeria is facing a resurgence of Islamic terrorism.

From 1991 to 2002, as many as 200,000 Algerians died in fighting between government forces and Islamic terrorists. Now one of the main terrorist groups, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, or G.S.P.C., has affiliated with Al Qaeda, rebranding itself as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

There is a sense that this country could still go either way. Young people here in the capital appear extremely observant, filling mosques for the daily prayers, insisting that they have a place to pray in school. The strictest form of Islam, Wahhabism from Saudi Arabia, has become the gold standard for the young.

And yet, the young in Algiers also appear far more socially liberal than their peers in places like Egypt and Jordan. Young veiled women walk hand in hand, or sit leg to leg, with young men, public flirtations unthinkable in most other Muslim countries.

The two natures of the country reflect the way in which Algerian identity was cleaved in half by 132 years of French colonial rule, and then again by independence and forced Arabization. Once the French were driven out in 1962, the Algerians were determined to forge a national identity free from Western influence.

The schools were one center of that drive. French was banned as the language of education, replaced by Arabic. Islamic law and the study of the Koran were required, and math and science were shortchanged. Students were warned that sinners go to hell, and 6-year-olds were instructed in the proper way to wash a corpse for burial, education officials said.

There is a feeling among many Algerians that they went too far.

“We say that Algeria’s schools have trained monsters,” said Khaoula Taleb Ibrahim, a professor of education at the University of Algiers. “It is not to that extent, but the schools have contributed to that problem.”

Over the years, the government has pushed back, reintroducing French, removing the most zealous religious teachers and trying to revise the religious curriculum. Seven years ago, a committee appointed by the president issued a report calling for an overhaul of the school system — and it died under intense political pressure, mostly from the Islamists and conservatives, officials said.

But this year, the government is beginning to make substantive changes. The schools are moving from rote learning — which was always linked to memorizing the Koran — to critical thinking, where teachers ask students to research subjects and think about concepts.

Yet the students and teachers are still unprepared, untrained and, in many cases, unreceptive.

“Before, teachers used to explain the lesson,” Malek said. “Now they want us to think more, to research, but it’s very difficult for us.”

Malek says he hopes to graduate from high school next year and now wants to join the military, just like his father. He is a long way from being the person who had accepted what he says the terrorist recruiter told him — that soldiers, like his own father, are apostates and should be killed. His resolution lasted for three days, until his imam found out and persuaded him not to go.
But the call to jihad still tugs at him. In his world, jihad, or struggle, is a duty for Muslims, but as Malek explains, the challenge is who will convince young people of the proper form that struggle should take.

“They really convince you,” he said of the extremists.

Then later, with great sincerity, he asked: “Can you help me? I want to go to New York and rap.”

In Algeria, your sense of identity often depends on when you went to school.

Hassinah Bou Bekeur, 26, enjoys watching the Saudi satellite channels and the news in Arabic.

She watches with her mother and four younger sisters in one room. But her father, Nasreddin, 60, stays in another room so he can watch in French, the language of his education.

“He is not very strict,” she said of her father, with a touch of affection and disappointment in her voice. “We have more awareness of religion now.”

She took the veil when she was 20; one sister did so at 17, and another sister at 15. The youngest, Zeinab, is only 12 and does not yet wear the veil. The veil is a symbol of the distance between father and children. While Mr. Bou Bekeur studied the Koran, Islam was not the cornerstone of his identity. He says he even drank alcohol — which is prohibited by Islam — until 1986. “I never knew that,” said Amal, his 17-year-old daughter, and then with a smile, she waved her fist at her father and said, “I will kill you.”

The Bou Bekeur family illustrates the outcome of Algeria’s school-based Arabization project. The family is close but the generation gap is extraordinary. It is not solely the result of schooling — but the history of the education system here helps explain the distance between the generations.
It begins with occupation and schools designed to train people for a French-run system. Even after independence, the schools needed to continue to train in French because the government needed managers and experts to replace those French citizens who had left the country, officials here said. In 1971, officials said, the Arabization project began in earnest, when French was prohibited as a language of education.

But there were not enough educators qualified to teach in Arabic, so Algeria turned to Egyptians, Iraqis and Syrians — not realizing, officials say now, that many of those teachers had extreme religious views and that they helped plant the seeds of radicalism that would later flourish in a school system where Arabization became interchangeable with Islamization. In the Bou Bekeur house that meant children far more religious than their father — and their mother.

“The foundation of religion, I learned in school,” said Mr. Bou Bekeur’s son, Abdel Rahman, 25.

“We pray more than them and we know religion better than them,” he said of his father’s generation. “We are more religious. My father used to drink. I never drank. My father asked me if it was O.K. to take a car loan. I told him, no, it is haram,” forbidden in Islam.

So his father did not take the loan. His father is a quiet man in a house of strong-willed people. He can barely help his children with their homework, because his Arabic is poor. And he worries about their future, and the future of his country.

“Now they are at a crossroads,” Mr. Bou Bekeur said of his children and their generation. “Either they go to the West, or stay with this and become extremists.”

The children do not respond to such remarks. They often give their father a kind of sad, knowing smile, as though they have done the best that they can with him, and are pleased with the progress he has made.

The family lives in a small pink villa, inherited from Mr. Bou Bekeur’s father, who was killed fighting the French.

Mr. Bou Bekeur’s wife, Naima, is 48, and of a different generation altogether. She was among the first to go through the state-sponsored Arabization process. She said she remembered having a teacher from Egypt who was supposed to teach academic subjects in Arabic — but provided her first real lessons in religion.

Mrs. Bou Bekeur started serving lunch, homemade couscous. The family was sitting in the main living room on big brown couches, as Mr. Bou Bekeur scratched away at one of his French crossword puzzles. Hassinah wore orange velour pants, an orange velour top and a large pink scarf that covered her head and was pinned beneath her chin.

The conversation shifted, with Hassinah complaining that men were treated better at home than women. “The boys don’t have to wash the dishes. Why?” she said. “Why the difference? If I had a boy or girl, I would treat them equal.

“Women are supposed to work all day and come home and clean and cook — no way,” she fumed, her hands firmly on her knees.

Mr. Bou Bekeur seemed pleased. “Women have more opportunities today than they used to. Women can participate in sports and still be respected,” he said in his naturally soft voice.

“No,” Hassinah said, gently, shaking her head at her father. “My way of thinking is more influenced by religion. My religion tells me ‘no, that’s not right.’ ”

Zeinab, the 12-year-old, was seated in the corner, headphones on, humming a song by Beyoncé, and smiling as she did homework.

Four years ago, Amine Aba, 19, one of Malek’s best friends, decided it was time to take his religion more seriously, to stop listening to music, to stop dancing, to stop hanging around with Malek — most of which he accomplished most of the time.

“Muslim countries have been influenced by the Europeans,” Amine said, explaining why he thought he had not been religious enough for most of his life. “We have neglected our religion,” he said.

“Like us,” said Malek, who was nearby with a new buddy, Muhammad Lamine Messaoudi, a baby-faced 18-year-old with a bit of a paunch and a constant smile. The two burst into nervous laughter.

Malek, Amine and Lamine are each dealing with the forces shaping their world in slightly different ways. Amine has chosen religion; Malek, who has gelled hair and a slight stutter, has taken a middle road of religion, girls and rap; and Lamine appears a sentry of the left, interested in beer, girls and, he hopes, a life in France.

Each has felt the push and pull of the political-ideological fight going on in Algerian schools, between those who want to maintain the status quo and those who hope to reopen a window to the West. The messages the young men receive through teachers and the curriculum are still, almost uniformly, aimed at reinforcing their Arab-Islamic identity. But that is changing, slowly, and not without a fight.

“We would never have imagined Algeria could one day be faced with violence that would come from Islam,” said Fatiha Yomsi, an adviser to the minister of education.

Students go to school amid subdued tension because many educators do not like the changes that are coming.

“He is an Islamist. He would not shake my hand before,” Ms. Yomsi said as she introduced an Arabic teacher during a morning tour of Al Said Hamdeen high school here. Then as she walked around, she pointed out the front line in the struggle, keeping boys and girls together in class.

“You see, all these classes are mixed,” she said. “It is very important. We fought for this. That is why I am targeted for death.”

At stake are the identities of young people like Malek, Amine and Lamine — and their futures.

The young men focused on trying to pass their exams, because Algiers is full of examples of those who have not. More than 500,000 students drop out each year, officials said — and only about 20 percent of students make it into high school. Only about half make it from high school into a university. A vast majority of dropouts are young men, who see no link between work and school. Young women tend to stick with school because, officials said, it offers independence from their parents.

Algeria’s young men leave school because there is no longer any connection between education and employment, school officials said. The schools raise them to be religious, but do not teach them skills needed to get a job.

This is another cause for extremism, and it is one reason the police do nothing to stop so many young men from illegally selling everything from deodorant to bread at makeshift stands.

“These stands are illegal, but they let them do it as a matter of security and because of unemployment — instead of them going out and carrying weapons,” said Muhammad Darwish, a social studies teacher in the Muhammad Bou Ras middle school, as he passed masses of young men selling on the street.

Malek, Amine and Lamine are all trying to avoid ending up like a vast majority of their friends — selling on the street. Lamine and Malek try to study. But they say that is only because if they fail the exams, they cannot get into the military — and if they cannot get into the military, they will have no status in Algeria. They have focused on the science curriculum. But their hearts do not seem to be in it. “They don’t let you like education here,” Lamine said.

Malek met Amine when Amine’s family moved into the walled and guarded compound for military families where Malek already lived. It is beside the Casbah, the old Arab quarter, where streets wind up and down hills that fall from the mountains to the sea. That was four years ago, and the young men became friends, going together to the mosque where they practiced the traditional way of reciting the Koran aloud.

But as Amine grew more religious, Malek began to drift away from him, in part out of concern for his father. “The military and a beard don’t go together,” he said. Malek shaved his beard and started to spend all his free time with Lamine, a very quiet young man with a shaved head. One of their favorite spots to relax is the monument to those killed in the war against the French. The concrete monument soars more than 300 feet into the sky, with three ramps sweeping up to an apex.

The sky was blue, the wind heavy and the clouds white on a May day when Malek dropped to the pavement and began to break dance, his feet in the air, his shoulders pressed to the ground. Suddenly Algerian rap played from Lamine’s cellphone as they danced and laughed — until they stopped.

Amine wrapped his arm around Malek’s shoulder and they recited the Koran, their voices carrying through the wind. Lamine stood by, silently.

“I only have 25 days until the test; I have to go home,” Amine said. “My mother will be mad at me if I don’t study.”

After he left, Lamine was asked how he felt about Amine. He has frequently teased him, suggesting that they go together to the bar for a beer. Lamine does not go with Malek to pray, talks often about drinking alcohol and said that two years ago he was arrested trying to sneak onto a ship to get to France.

“He’s O.K.,” Lamine said. “I’d like to be like him. I’d like to be religious someday, too.”

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN, New York Times

North Africa: Unemployment to blame for North Africa protests

RABAT- Unemployment disproportionately affecting young people is to blame for violent protests over the weekend in Morocco and Tunisia that killed one person and injured dozens, observers said.

"Endemic unemployment among young people from the Maghreb (northwestern Africa) is the cause of the protests that broke out in the past few days in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia," said Aziz, an activist from the Moroccan city of Sidi Ifni who asked not to be identified by his full name.

Clashes between security forces and young unemployed protesters erupted on Saturday in the Moroccan fishing port city 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Rabat.

The national unemployment rate stood at 9.7 percent in 2007, according to government statistics, but four out of 10 of these jobseekers were younger than 25.

In Tunisia, the national unemployment rate reached 14 percent in 2007, according to a Tunisian government official.

"Youth unemployment, especially among thousands of graduates in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia is the common denominator in the three countries where demonstrations periodically take place in cities," Khalid Cherkaoui, president of the Moroccan centre for human rights (CMDH), said.

Sidi Ifni saw its first such protests in 2006, young people in the area said.

The violence this weekend left 44 people injured, including 27 police officers, according to hospital sources in Sidi Ifni. CDMH estimates however that between one and five people died as a result of the clashes.

The Moroccan government denies this. "There was not one death," said spokesman Khalid Naciri.

In the southwest Tunisian city of Redeyef, one person was killed in protests on Friday and several were injured.

Here the demonstrations were ignited by allegations that the region's main employer had doctored a recruitment campaign. Protesters believed that officials from the Gafsa Phosphate Company had manipulated a selection process to their own advantage.

In Sidi Ifni, where fishing is the primary source of income, police used force to unblock the port where 89 trucks waited with loads of some 800 tonnes of fish.

The blockade had begun May 30 when the results of a recruitment campaign were unveiled and three successful candidates randomly picked. After the draw, around 120 angry youths moved towards the port and blocked operations, said socialist deputy Abdelwahab Belfkih.

Another elected official, Lahcen Achouad, said the "demands of the young people are socio-economic in nature. They are asking for an equitable distribution of the city's wealth."

-- Middle East Online

Tunisia: Meeting promotes female journalists in union leadership

A Tunisian journalist gives a presentation at a recent meeting in Tunis organised to advocate women journalists' participation in professional unions.

At a recent meeting in Tunis, women journalists from across the Maghreb announced an upcoming campaign called "Women in Union Leadership". The initiative aims to encourage women to participate in unions and to "promote to decision-making positions inside these unions through training, networking, communication and formation of pressure groups".

The forum, held April 17th-19th, was organised by the International Federation of Journalists (FIJ) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Attendees participated in a series of dialogues in which women journalists representing 14 Arab countries and Iran related their experiences in unions and leadership.

"The message of our meeting is clear – to encourage women journalists in the Arab region to join unions, to take part in their elections, and to run for leadership positions," Algerian Sarah Bouchetob told Magharebia.

Bouchetob, who is responsible for Arab world projects, said that she is already optimistic about developments in Tunisia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. She added that she looks forward to the next elections in Algeria, "so that we may see whether we have advanced in a good way".

At the last conference of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists held in January, three out of nine victors were women. In Morocco last March, five women acceded to the 19-member panel at the head of the journalists' syndicate.

Many attending the conference said, however, that conditions of female journalists are still below expectations in some countries. Journalist Adel Bouhlal said Tunisia has women who "enjoy enough professionalism and competency to lead and make decisions", but there has yet to be a single woman editor-in-chief, in either official or privately-owned newspapers.

Mounia Belafia, Vice-Secretary-General of the Moroccan National Press Syndicate, told Magharebia there are still "pockets of resistance" in Arab society keeping women from these positions of authority. Opponents of gender equality attempt to minimise what they view as risks by ideologically exploiting women, she added.

"There are many calls... to make women wear veils," she said, "but [also] calling for allowing women to take off their clothes in order to exploit them. We find ourselves with a choice of two traps; the first is the veiling and hiding, and the other is pornography and sexuality. Both are different forms of extremism," she said.

The meeting concluded with the identification of a set of goals and principles on which the journalist unions and syndicates will work in co-operation with the FIJ. The most prominent of these goals is "the need to increase the representation of women journalists in leadership positions in the unions and associations, with the adoption of a quota system. This is in addition to the enhancement of abilities of women journalists in unions through training."

Participants in the meeting agreed on the need "to involve male colleagues in all gender-related issues, enhance the union policies and trends in order to guarantee union rights of women journalists, and to protect them against all forms of violence and harassment they face in their work. This is in addition to ensuring the integration of the social gender approach in collective bargaining and common agreements."

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis

Algeria: Passport veil ban protest

Muslim Scholars in Algeria say a government ban on pictures of veiled women in passport photographs runs counter to Sharia law.

The Society of Algerian Muslim Scholars has denounced the ban which also applies to bearded men.

The organisation says the veil and beard are part of Muslim tradition which cannot be outlawed.

The society says it issued a fatwa against the ban after receiving hundreds of complaints.

Prime Minister Abdelazeez Belkhadem is reported to have received complaints from the public urging him to overturn the ban.

The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhardi says it is an example of a modern secular state coming under fire from a resurgent Islamism.

This confrontation took a sinister turn in Algeria back in the 1990s, when the Algerian army fought a bloody battle against Islamic militants leaving an estimated 100,000 people dead.

Our correspondent says the conflict between secular values and a new assertive Islamic identity has taken many shapes in Muslim as well as European societies where there is a vocal Islamic community.

He says the veil has figured prominently in fierce debates.

Most recently, Turkey was plunged into a constitutional crisis after the ruling party removed a ban on wearing the veil in universities.

The powerful secular establishment was outraged saying this was Islamisation by stealth and it took the matter to court hoping to outlaw the ruling party itself.

Algeria: 17% of jobs held by women

A recent census showed that women are representing 17% of the overall employment market in Algeria. The majority are working in the health sector, estimated at 49%, followed by the education sector, which employs up to 48%, the Minister for Family and Women, Mrs. Nouara Djafer, has unveiled.

The works of the international meeting bearing the title “female entrepreneurs in Algeria, opportunities, barriers, and horizons”, sponsored by the Ministry for Family and Women, was launched yesterday in Algiers.

She further announced that the initiative adopted by several women a few years ago, has achieved its objectives, as these female entrepreneurs have contributed in the unemployment rate decrease.

Furthermore, Mrs. Djafer added that the rate of employed women is estimated at 17% of the whole workforce, saying that the female judges have achieved 35% of the sector’s workers.

According to some participants, the sector employing more women is health, 49%, while 48% are employed in the education sector, but even though women have proven skills, they are not allowed holding top positions, concluded Mrs. Djaafar.

-- Al Khabar News

Tunisia: Arab conference targets improving women's participation in politics

A regional seminar on "Gender and Local Governance" held March 14th in the Tunisian capital highlighted the close link between "economic and domestic development and women’s participation in local politics".

Forum attendees from Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco and Bahrain also recommended organising an awareness-raising campaign for men concerning women’s right to play a significant role in local political affairs.

"The aim of holding this round-table meeting is to create an opportunity for exchanging experiences [and] to support women’s role in local governance among countries covered by the project and other countries outside the project such as Bahrain, Morocco and Kuwait," said Dr. Sekina Borai, head of the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR), which held the seminar in collaboration with the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).

Borai said, "As the Arab woman is currently incapable of participating effectively on the central level, at least, we aspire to achieve participation on the local level."

Allowing women to learn about what goes on within their region, she added, is "a straightforward route toward transparency and good governance".

Conference participants from Maghreb countries shared experiences and strategies about how the governance project is working. In Morocco, the Third Millennium Organisation is "working to open national dialog on democracy and assisting women to achieve broader participation on the national level", said Mohammad Balkoh.

Meanwhile, in Algeria, Faisal Bin Halilo of an NGO in Constantine, asserted that the country's legal and constitutional arsenal does not in any way hinder women’s participation in political life. In real life, however, women’s participation in local and central elections is slim and their voting turnout is on the decline, compared to the early years of independence.

Among the causes, he said, is an educational system that places women in an inferior position: "Our students still read in their textbooks, 'Father is in the field, and mother is in the kitchen'". Bin Halilo added that in Algerian politics, the fear of extremists has superseded women's issues.

The quota system, whereby a percentage of local council or Parliament seats is allocated to women, has been a bone of contention in countries represented at last week's conference. The majority of attendees rejected including such a provision in their countries' constitutions, arguing that it imposes a ceiling that women cannot exceed and is against Arab constitutions which emphasize equality among genders. "The quota system is part of positive discrimination," said Fawzeya Abdullah, a candidate in the 2006 Bahraini parliamentary elections.

To effectively boost Arab women's political participation, the general political environment and the status of freedoms in the Arab world must be considered, according to Tunisian economist Azzam Mahjoub. One of the first academics to compile a report on the subject, Mahjoub noted that in the Arab region, there is a high level of illiteracy among women and their presence in the workforce is minimal.

"The Arab woman," Mahjoub added, "is the victim of discrimination in male-dominated societies, and also suffers from the use of religion to justify such discrimination."

At the conclusion of the Tunis seminar, participants said they will work with decision-makers to set out strategic plans for improving women's participation in local governance.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis

Algeria: Women cite problems with implementation of new family code

Three years after Algeria's family code was revised, women are looking back with regret on their initial enthusiasm for the change. What appears to have been a well-intended effort to protect women and children's rights has inadvertently caused many of them to lose everything.

Her eyes are wild, her face is pale and her right hand stretches out to passers-by, opening and closing with an automatic, yet timid movement. For a year now, Hadfa Boutouba, 45, has lived in a cardboard box on the pavement in Algeria's working-class Bab El Oued district. Her three children Nassim, 10, Amina, 8, and Ines, 5, live with her. Her story is by no means unique. After fifteen years of marriage, the couple separates. The husband remarries, and the wife is forced to leave the home. Destination: the street.

Like so many Algerian women, Hadfa Boutouba was caught up in a storm of political slogans when the Family Code was reformed on February 27th 2005. Women were told that by repealing the 1984 law on marriages, they and their children would finally enjoy rights and protections in the case of divorce. Promises of what the new law would bring ranged from "equality of the sexes" to "strengthening the family unit".

At the time, women’s associations in Algeria hailed the new law as a victory. Even today, limited knowledge about the law leaves many women with a positive impression. Although she has not read the law, 36 year old tax inspector Hassiba Chékir,, tells Magharebia, "I’ve heard that divorced women are entitled to a home, and the husband cannot take a second wife without informing the first."

But the reality is not so simple. Many women today feel that the slogans from three years ago were illusory. Fatima Benbrahem, a lawyer well-known for her work to promote women’s rights, tells Magharebia that "instead of bringing solutions, the new family code has created dissolution". "They wanted to be innovative," she explains, adding that unfortunately, their actions brought about the opposite effect.

Lawyer Ahmed Khababa agrees. "Designed to strengthen family ties, the new code has turned the futures of thousands of families to tragedy in a very short time." He refers to Article 14 of the new law, which, in the case of repeated conflict, allows a wife to separate from her spouse without his agreement. In addition, Article 72 guarantees a mother a sizable sum of money to support herself and her children. "It is the father's responsibility to provide a decent home or, failing that, payment for rent," Khababa says.

"Many women who had stored up years of marital conflict rushed into demanding a divorce as soon as the new laws were created, thinking they would end up with a roof over their heads."
But the women were in for a rude awakening. "The husband presents a pay slip to the judge, indicating his low income. In the majority of cases, the judge awards a rent of 6,000 DA, knowing that the average price for a studio flat in a working-class district of Algiers approaches 10,000 DA. In the best case scenario, the woman chooses a dilapidated place to live. In the worst case, she will return to her parents' home, or find herself out on the streets," Khababa affirms.

Such a scenario was "predictable", Benbrahem says, and statistics released by the Ministry of Justice support her assessment. Indeed, there were 25,000 divorces in 2005. By 2007, the number had spiked to 36,750.

At the root of many of the problems is Article 8, which sets out conditions for the husband to contract up to four marriages at a time. The number of marriages, however, is not the worry. The problem lies in the way the marriages work.

Now, a husband who wants to remarry must present a judge with a marriage request bearing the signature of his previous wife. In other words, the woman must be informed of her husband’s intention to remarry.

"This condition has wrecked everything," Benbrahem says. "Very few men follow it through," he adds, noting that most turn to "extramarital relationships, and traditional or religious marriages which deprive the woman of all her rights in the eyes of the law."

Men have found a number of ways to circumvent the law. "I've pleaded cases where the husband has won by contracting a second illegal marriage (thanks to the new family code)," says the lawyer. "The cunning husband waits for the day when his new wife becomes pregnant. He then goes off to the judge and orders him to validate his marriage so he can give his name to the future offspring." Faced with this fait accompli, "the judge complies in 100% of cases" and the first wife finds herself out on the street.

"We absolutely have to work to get this family code repealed," insists Meriem Bellala, president of the SOS Association for Women in Distress. "The new code," she says, "enshrines the downfall of Algerian women and their children."

Since the enactment of the new law, she says, child custody has become "a means to justify a frequently unsavoury end." Because the husband no longer has to pay his wife's rent if she loses legal rights to the children, the mother wants custody in order to have a place to live and the father wants custody so he can stop paying an additional rent.

Bellala says that problems lie not only in the way the law is enforced, but also in a lack of understanding in some constituencies "where the texts defining the law have never been received." The Algerian authorities do not deny this situation.

Nouara Djaâfar, Algeria's minister for families and women, tells Magharebia that marriage failures are not the fault of the law "embodying the family code, but [rather] in the application of the law, which needs to be given time." According to a study by Djaâfar's ministry, more than 50% of women "do not know their rights" and are unaware of the content of the new family code.
Outside the capital, "they haven’t even heard about revisions to this law," says Samia Guermaz, a 42-year old English teacher. "It's common law that governs families."

Indeed, ignorance of civil law has led many women to enter into marriage with foreign Muslims without acquiring the proper legal protections of their rights. Mabdellah Temine, communications advisor for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, provided Magharebia with information indicating that in 2006 alone, some 3,000 women were tricked into marrying imams and sheikhs from the Middle East and the Gulf who were in Algeria on short-term postings.

"After noticing the husband’s absence, the victims go along to the consulate of their respective country," Temine says. "They discover there that the people they are inquiring after do not exist." The so-called "men of faith" have given false names in order to consummate "zawaj al mutaa" without being traced. Because the marriage was never official registered with the state, Temine says, "These women and children find that they have no rights."

By Achira Mammeri for Magharebia in Algiers

Algeria: Violence mars women's equality

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The sight of women working as bus and taxi drivers, petrol pump attendants or police officers in Algeria's larger towns can surprise newcomers by suggesting women are emancipated in Algeria. They are not, feminists say.

Such cases remain exceptions in a male-dominated Muslim society in which, despite official appearances, women are often treated like slaves and violently abused by husbands, fathers and brothers.

"Don't be fooled by a minority of westernized women," said Saliha Larab from Algerian women's organization RAFD. "Algeria remains a very conservative society that considers women as second-class citizens."

Algerian women who fought for independence -- like Hassiba Ben Bouali and Jamila Bouhired -- are still held up as heroines in the north African country.

Equality of the sexes is enshrined in Algeria's constitution and women hold senior positions in central and regional government, the courts, security services and embassies.

The government says sexual harassment has been criminalized and provisions added to legislation to bolster women's rights.

But up to a dozen women and children can sometimes be seen sleeping rough on the streets in downtown Algiers at night, many fleeing spousal abuse or rejected by husbands in family disputes.

According to police figures, 7,400 women in the north African country of 33 million were victims of violence in 2005, up from 5,845 in 2004.

"The figures don't say much. The big problem is most victims don't complain," said Larab. "They stay silent, fear reprisals by society. A woman does not have the right to complain."

At a centre for women in distress in Algiers, Lamia, 35, said she had endured five years of beatings from her husband in front of her young children before he threw her onto the streets.

She fled her village to escape a barrage of persecution and insults from her husband and neighbors. Destitute, she appealed to her own family but they rejected and abandoned her.

Lamia received no support and for a while lost custody of her children. When they were returned to her she found they had been sexually abused by one of her husband's relatives. "I made a complaint but all I got in return was another beating from my husband, who is a police officer."

Now in the shelter, Lamia's daughter is back in primary school after a long break in her education. A non-governmental organization gave her legal assistance to claim rights such as child maintenance payments from her husband and official custody of the children.

HEROINES

Although reproductive health has improved dramatically and the birth rate declined, the rate of illiteracy among Algerian women is still twice as high as for men, at 37 percent, and only 13 per cent of women are in the paid workforce, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

With nearly a quarter of Algerians living below the national poverty line and 70 percent of adults under 30 without a job, frustration and insecurity are widespread -- and women are most often the victims.

Amnesty International said in a report in 2005 that allegations of rape and other sexual violence were often not investigated and those responsible were not brought to justice.

A 2005 amendment to the family code improved the position of women by banning men from divorcing their wives for no reason, giving women access to financial support from former husbands and a right to a home if they gain custody of their children.

But President Abdelaziz Bouteflika rejected a recommendation by a government-appointed reform commission to abolish a rule forcing women to get permission from a male family member or so-called tutor to marry.

Analysts say Bouteflika's decision not to drop the clause from an amendment to the 1984 family code showed Islamic parties still carry influence after a long-running militant uprising that has claimed the lives of up to 200,000.

SINGING CAREER, SUICIDE

Wives and daughters who make their grievances public often risk a violent revenge by incensed male relatives.

Fatiha, 53, filed for divorce after beatings from her husband -- who disapproved of her career plans -- left her in hospital for three months with severe trauma and fractures. "All I wanted was to become a singer," Fatiha said.

The repeated violence caused psychiatric disorders in her children and one of her daughters attempted suicide, she said. Exhausted and unable to endure such humiliating violence any longer, Fatiha sought refuge with her aged father while waiting for her divorce, leaving the children with her husband.

When her father died and she was left without a protector, her husband came with one of her sons to kill her, knowing that she was alone in the house. She escaped death thanks to a neighbor who warned her of their plan, and found refuge at the Darna women's centre in Algiers.

Now divorced, Fatiha has the freedom to develop her talents as a poet and singer.
With support from the women's centre she has written a collection of poems, and made a CD expressing her pain in song.

- Reuters
By Lamine Chikhi
Additional reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)