Fettouma Touati (born 1950) is an Algerian-French novelist writing in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Life

Fettouma Touati was born in Azazoa, a small mountainous village in the

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

region of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Her parents emigrated to France in 1951, before the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. In 1975 she returned to Kabylia for four years, and worked as a librarian in the

University of Tizi Ouzou The Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi Ouzou ( ber, ⵝⴰⵙⴷⴰⵓⵉⵝ ⵎⵓⵏⵓⴷ ⴰⵝⵎⴷⴰⵟⵙ; french: Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi Ouzou) is a university in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. It is named after Mouloud Mammeri. As of ...

. Her novel ''Le printemps désespéré'' (Desperate Spring) charted the lives of three generations of Algerian women, highlighting the way in which a network of women's relationships supported them in coping with the recurrent

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

suffered by Algerian women.

Works

* ''Le printemps désespéré: vies d'Algériennes''. 1984. Translated into English by

Ros Schwartz Ros Schwartz is an English literary translator, who translates Francophone literature into English. In 2009 she was awarded the Chevalier d’Honneur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her services to French literature. Career Alongside li ...

as ''Desperate Spring'',

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofou ...

, 1987.

References

1950 births Living people 20th-century Algerian writers 20th-century Algerian women writers Algerian novelists Algerian women novelists 21st-century Algerian people {{Algeria-writer-stub