Considering the fact that I was born and grew up in a small conservative community, people might think I should be a shy, submissive, and weak woman. However, seeing all the very weak women around me made me even stronger and inspired me to fight even harder against the inequality and the hard life these women are enduring. I have always felt that I need to spread awareness and help them overcome the obstacles in their way. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, once said, “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” That is why I decided to lead these women and push them forward.
I look at the closed doors and imagine what life is like for every single Algerian woman behind them. I look at schoolbooks that dictate to 10-year-old brains that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. I look around and see young girls dropping out of school to get married to men around the age of their fathers. I see women killed and lynched, yet everyone justifies it and finds a thousand and one excuses to lighten the burden of the murders. I knew that I was obliged to take action instead of only sympathizing with the victims.
Since 2016, I have been engaged in work at the non-formal women’s foundation Féministes Algériens en Mouvement (FAM) to fight for women’s rights. At the foundation, the voices of diverse women come together to claim women’s power to change, grow, support each other, and create a better world. We shouted for laws that protect our dignity, organized protests and movements for lasting change, and went to file complaint after complaint. The process was not easy because we sometimes had to provide evidence, witnesses, and sometimes even more than that. However, the biggest motivator for me to work for and help women is seeing them become powerful, independent, and overcome the obstacles they are facing.
I dream that women never keep silent, even in the face of those who are full of hatred and frustration and deny women’s involvement in mainstream social activities. I dream of a world where laws protect the rights of women and girls, and harmful social norms are challenged and transformed. Once those positive changes occur to the women themselves, this will eventually influence their daughters and future generations as well.
———–
Get a copy of WE HAVE A DREAM 201 Dreams 201 Countries