From taboo to transnational political issue: Violence against women in Algeria

SynopsisThis article considers the way in which women are confined in their roles in social and cultural reproduction through violent acts of discipline. Through an examination of the case of Algeria, a society torn by civil violence in recent years, I argue that in order to understand the root causes of violence against women, we need a fuller understanding of the broader historical and social context. In the case of Algeria key factors are gendered discourses about power and domination, social space and the formation of national identity. In recent years they have been contested through collective acts of resistance, with transnational dimensions.