Rabea Khreiss

Algeria — Two Algerian researchers at the Scientific and Technical Research Center in Social and Cultural Anthropology are working on an ambitious research project on the Algerian feminist novel. They aspire to produce a bibliographic index of Algerian women’s novels—an unprecedented milestone in the history of Algerian literature.

Both researchers, Fouzia Bouguenjour and Souad Zerkouk, discussed the trajectory of the Algerian feminist novel, its contexts of development, the various challenges it has faced, and other factors that influenced the production of women’s literary writing in Algeria.

Regarding the details of the project, Bouguenjour explained that she is currently working on a research project dedicated to the Algerian feminist novel, which includes producing a broad and comprehensive bibliography of all Algerian women’s novels written in Arabic, Tamazight, French, and even English. The project, launched in June 2023, was approved by the Scientific Council of the Research Center and includes a team working across these languages.

Historical Context

The project offers scholars and writers access to novel titles, their publication dates, official release information, page counts, and the authors’ names—real or pseudonymous. Bouguenjour notes that she and researcher Souad Zerkouk relied on field data, most notably the number of women’s novels published from the first Algerian feminist novel up to 2024. “By 2025, we aim to finalize the project’s outputs, which will enable us to study many aspects, including the various challenges the feminist novel faced—particularly in dissemination, critical reception, and the mechanisms influencing its production.”

The researchers have reached several preliminary conclusions regarding the development of the feminist novel in Algeria, the most important being its late emergence. “The rise of women’s writing in Algeria was relatively delayed compared to men,” they observed. “The numbers were extremely limited in both Arabic and French. We also noted significant disparities in publication between the two languages. As for novels written in Tamazight, they appeared much later, with the first published in 2010. English-language novels remain very few due to the limited use of the language.”

Regarding Algerian women’s literature, Bouguenjour explains that it can be divided into several generations. In the 1960s, the number of women’s novels was very small, and everything available was written in French due to the coincidence of that period with French colonial rule. The first Algerian feminist novel written in Arabic appeared in 1979: Memoirs of a Free Schoolteacher by Zahour Lounissi, who narrated a stage of her life in a fictional form, highlighting her individual experience and her revolutionary dedication alongside her peers.

This novel remained the only one until 1993, when Lounissi published her second novel Loundja and the Ghoul, which the Arab Writers Union selected among the “Best 100 Arabic Novels of the 20th Century.” Shortly afterward appeared Ahlam Mosteghanemi’s first novel Memory in the Flesh, a groundbreaking contribution to Arabic-language fiction. The novel achieved extraordinary Arab and international success, was translated into many languages, and gained wide recognition as a literary work—unlike many novels whose success depended on film or TV adaptations. In 1999, Fadhila El Farouk published The Mood of an Adolescent, addressing the condition of women in Algerian society.

Statistics show that in just 22 years—from 2000 to 2022—more than 100 Algerian women’s novels were published in Arabic, representing more than 90% of all such novels published since independence.

Decline in Writing Under Pseudonyms

A striking trend during this period is the “notable rise of women’s novels written in French.” Bouguenjour cites authors such as Assia Djebar (real name Fatma-Zohra Imalayen), a monumental figure of the French-language novel, and Malika Mokeddem, who also writes in French. The widespread presence of French publishing houses and the ease of reaching readers played a decisive role in the expansion of the French-language feminist novel—unlike Arabic-language novels, which struggled significantly due to restrictions imposed by French authorities and the absence of local publishing houses.

For her part, Souad Zerkouk, a permanent researcher at the Center for Research in Social and Cultural Anthropology, highlights one key finding: the increasing use of real names. “Since 2010, Algerian women novelists have mostly used their real names instead of pseudonyms, unlike in earlier periods,” she notes, questioning, “What are the reasons behind this shift?”

She adds that the phenomenon still persists in some more conservative cities such as Bordj Bou Arréridj, Djelfa, Tiaret, Jijel, Ain Defla, and Biskra. Interestingly, these cities have also witnessed a rise in publishing houses, a significant and thought-provoking development.

Another important aspect concerns the sociocultural trajectory of women novelists. Zerkouk asks: “Is writing for these authors a professional path or a hobby? And how does language influence the themes of the Algerian feminist novel?”

The research project undertaken by Fouzia Bouguenjour and Souad Zerkouk represents a pioneering scientific step toward documenting the evolution of the Algerian feminist novel and tracing its transformations across generations and languages. It will provide scholars and readers with a comprehensive database that reflects the richness of this literary field and the challenges it has faced.