Henda Ayari (born 4 December 1976 in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

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) is a French

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and secular activist. Previously a

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

Muslim, in 2015 she founded the association ''Libératrices'', which helps defend women and prevent radicalisation.

Biography

Henda Ayari was born on 4 December 1976 in Rouen to a father of

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

n origins and a mother of

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n origin, both non-practicing Muslims. Her mother was violent towards her, and her father abandoned the family. After the divorce of her parents, at the age of 21 she decided to start wearing the

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

, as is customary for many Muslim women, after marrying a Salafi man. One of the first things her husband, Bachir, did was to make her buy a jilbab, which covers from the head to toe, and a niqab, the face covering veil. The niqab was, in her words, maximum religiosity, the clothing that most pleases

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

.Carlotta Gall
« I Could not Forget What Happened to Me That Night With Him »
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 3 November 2017. She adapted to family life and brought up her three children according to the rigorous principles of Salafi Islam. Henda Ayari lived for 9 years veiled from head to toe, under the absolute authority of her husband who grew more and more violent. She eventually refused the Salafi lifestyle, obtained a divorce, and slowly regained her independence. For a while she worked at odd jobs before training to become a clerk at the Ministry of Justice and starting a confectionery business.« Henda Ayari, libérée du salafisme, tout voile dehors »
''Ouest France'', 3 November 2017. Inspired by the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

, she created controversy on social media in December 2015 by posting on

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two photos, one of which was her dressed in the veil, the other without veil, in tailored clothing, which symbolised her emancipation. Her photo without the veil was flagged on Facebook for "nudity". She said she had nothing against women who wear the veil, but refused to accept those who impose the veil on others. In 2016 she published her autobiography (''J'ai choisi d'être libre''). In October 2017 she accused Islamic studies academic

Tariq Ramadan Tariq Ramadan ( ar, طارق رمضان, ; born 26 August 1962) is a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony's College, Oxford and the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Univ ...

of raping her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayari, Henda 1976 births Living people Writers from Rouen French feminists 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French women writers French women activists French people of Algerian descent French people of Tunisian descent