Hassiba Ben Bouali ( ar, حسيبة بن بوعلي) (18 January 1938 – 9 October 1957) was a leader and fighter in the

Algerian independence war 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 ...

(1954–62).

Biography

Hassiba Ben Bouali was born in El-Asnam (Today, Chlef), Algeria, into an aristocratic family. Her parents moved to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

in 1947, where she studied at the Lycée Delacroix (high-school). She joined the

Scout Movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

, and her travels made her aware of the conditions of the Algerian people under the colonial government. This motivated her to join the ''Union générale des étudiants musulmans algériens'' (General Union of Algerian Muslim Students) in 1954, at the age of 16. She participated in the nationalist struggle until her death. In the 1957 Battle of Algiers, she and three companions including Ali Ammar (aka ''Ali La Pointe'') were killed when French forces bombed their hideout in the Casbah. Benbouali was depicted in the movie '' The Battle of Algiers'' by Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo. One of the largest avenues in Algiers and the University of Chlef were named after her.

References

External links

Universite Hassiba Ben Bouali biography (French)
1938 births 1957 deaths People from Chlef Algerian guerrillas killed in action African women in war Deaths by explosive device Members of the National Liberation Front (Algeria) Women in warfare post-1945 {{Algeria-mil-bio-stub