Tales of ‘Springs’ and ‘Revolutions’: Women, the Algerian Black Decade and the Islamist Femicide

The recent civil uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, which were erroneously defined as ‘springs’ and ‘revolutions’ have failed to deliver the expectations of the masses who took to the streets to scream their anger and desperation about their precarious lives under dictatorial regimes denying them dignity and citizenship rights. From the October 1988 riots in Algeria to
the 2011 uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, similar patterns tend to reoccur; the masses’ rebellions are quickly hijacked by Islamists as the only alternative to the old regimes, who ultimately return to power under a new guise to save the nation from Islamist rule and violence.
“Tales of ‘Springs’ and ‘Revolutions’: Women, the Algerian Black Decade and the Islamist Femicide” offers an account of the struggle of Algerian women against their inferior legal status and against their suppression under Islamic rule governing life in public spheres. It describes how women‘s living conditions under the sway of Islamic Militias during the black decade quickly deteriorated, how they were exposed to violence, rape and torture and how they transformed their suffering into a rallying cry for equality.