Algeria’s women quietly advance in careers and society

[Al-khiyal]

Les femmes veulent plus

Lundi 27 Juillet 2009 -- «Les droits de la femme» était le thème d'une rencontre organisée hier, par la commission de la femme travailleuse de l'Union générale des travailleurs algériens (UGTA). « La femme travailleuse est protégée par la législation algérienne. Toutefois, l'application est parfois bien paradoxale dans la mesure où la prédominance des esprits rétrogrades l'emporte sur la réalité, combien désastreuse de la femme. La méconnaissance des lois est malheureusement un facteur dévalorisant et entravant la prise de conscience de la femme travailleuse. C'est pourquoi, l'objectif de cette journée d'études est la vulgarisation des différentes lois la protégeant », indiquent les organisateurs de cette rencontre. Animée par le docteur Taibi de l'université d'Oran, cette journée était l'occasion pour donner un aperçu sur les droits de la femme selon la législation algérienne. Le conférencier a affirmé que certains droits dont jouit la femme algérienne, comme la liberté de mouvement contrairement aux femmes dans d'autres pays, représentent un acquis. Le docteur Taibi a cependant soulevé quelques différences de traitement entre l'homme et la femme comme la discrimination en matière de salaire dans certaines entreprises économiques, les différentes formes de violence morale et physique que subit la femme par son entourage. La femme est exposée à d'autres formes de violence. Les harcèlements dans le milieu du travail est un exemple concret. Pour rappel, depuis sa création en 2003, la cellule d'écoute de l'UGTA d'Alger a reçu plus de 3.000 plaintes de la part de personnes victimes de violence dont la plupart sont des femmes. Une cellule similaire verra bientôt le jour à Oran, où une dizaine de cas de violence et d'harcèlement ont été réglés par la commission de la femme travailleuse de l'union de wilaya.

[Al-khiyal]

"When I see woman driving a bus, or selling and buying, or working like her, I am proud to be Algerian"

Video report:
Algerian women behind the wheel

[Maryam-Hispanic]

Aasalamu´alaykum my dear brothers and sisters,

I found very interesting the article and I´d like to thank the person who post it. Definetely every muslim around the world and women in general should feel happy to see that women are getting the rights that at some point of history were taken away from us. However in this struggle of obtaining women´s rights and active participation in every field of society, one should consider also the whole well being of society in order not to do mistakes that some societies are right now facing. Definitely a well educated woman is a super-plus in every aspect one sees it. Women deserve opportunities the same as men have. Salaries must be equal no matter the gender. I guess everybody agrees on this point. Most jobs and posiitions don´t have a gender. A female corporate manager could be as efficient as a male one. Life is full of stages: there´s a time when we play as children, there´s another time when we become school students, there´s a time when we become college students, and there´s a time when we marry and build a family. I stop at this last point, and would like to remind myself and all women that our families always should be first. According to the Association of Pediatricians of U.S.A. the first 3 years of a child are crucial to his psychological and physical development and it´s during this time when the mother is the main actor in his life (in Islam moms are supposed to breastfeed a child for approximately 2 years, now science have discovered the importance of human milk besides the positive psychological effect on babies and toddlers, isn´t it amazing what modern research have discovered!) Morever, it is during the first 6 years of human life when the personality takes shape, so the experience recorded during this time will have a effect for life. Some european countries like Norway, Finland, etc., are paying women to make the choice of becoming mothers and take care of their childen at home to increase the population. Some companies at developed countries are studying the possibility of women working from their houses. A year ago, I remember in U.S.A. the was a case of an employee of the popular store Walmart who had a child with brain cancer and due to his hosptialization had to miss several days. According to the policy of the company she could not be more than 3 days absent so she was fired. In Ophrah´s show a group of women were discussing how the laws of U.S. should be reviewed in benefit of working mothers. There´s a saying that "someone´s else garden always seems to us greener". When we see a lady with a suit sitting in front of a laptop in her office looks smart to us and a stereotype of a sucessful woman opposite to a stay-at-home mom. That is the idea that developed modern societies try to present specially to our countries. Here in Latin America women have progressed a lot too, Alhamdulillah. Now there are more women in universities than men. When one enters to a bank there are more women working than men. At the same time, there´s more criminality, more teenagers become pregnant, and we have a big problem of minors joinning gangs and killing people. I´ve been an elementary school teacher for almost 9 years and not always the "sucessful lady manager" is a sucessful mother or wife. When something doesn´t work with the kids, the school and the teachers, we are always there to be blamed. Some people might say that we live in very difficult times and in a world of economical recession but let´s think about this: "At what time in history life has been easy?" 200 years ago people used to ride horses and donkeys, now we ride cars, airplanes, and subways. Before we were all colonies now we´re independent countries, Alhamdulillah! One thing is different: we consume much more. For example now every child wants a computer and a tv in his/her room, every year a new model of mobiles come out, a home without a 45" flat tv screen is considered a home without tv. Our neighbors call us to see the new car they just got out of the agency, so definitely one should not "stay behind". In such ways start this no-end run in our lives, women become more "professionally sucessfull", and that delicious "cous-cous" or "shorbah" that mom makes it´s changed by a Big Mac. Instead of getting the loving help of mummy to do homework, a child goes to an "after-school" program, and note after note from us (the teachers) notifying the parents that the child doesn´t concentrate, doesn´t do homework, too agressive, etc. are put every week in the children´s backpack. We teachers comment how irresponsible and careless parents have become but what can mom do when she works from 8-5, Mondays thru Fridays? Will she have some time to sit with that child after she comes from work around 5:30 p.m. while she has to do some cleaning at home, prepare dinner, talk to the husband, and at 9:00 p.m everybody should be in bed for the next day run? I don´t mean by no way that we women should go back to 18th Century locked ourselves at home and make bread in a brick oven. Definitely a well educated mother and wife will have a completely different impact on children, the family, and the whole society in general than a woman who is not. Allah, S.W.A. has blessed us women with intuition, love, patience, care, etc. and so many beautiful qualities that fit the position of mother and are a must to shape the personality of our little ones. Unfortunately most men do not. One can see that in preschool most teachers are women because of the motherhood connection. Here in Latin America male teachers are not accepted from Kindergarten up to 3rd. Grade. I definitely congratulate my Algerian sisters for their progress in society, and I also feel proud to see a muslim woman bus-driver, but let´s not forget one of our main roles in life: to be mothers. It´s not easy to be a sucessful mother, a sucessful manager, and a sucesful wife. One of my most precious memories was when I used to sit at the table with mom and dad to eat that delicious arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans), pollo con salsa (chicken with sauce), aguacate (avocado) y fritos maduros (fried plantains) that the lovely hands of my mom had prepared for us. The whole world outside could have been shaken but home was so secure and full of love. Now families sit together occasionally because of the "time". if a woman sittiing infront of a laptop in her office is a synonym of progress, for me, as a teacher, when i have a child with good manners and responsible with his studies, I definitely would like to meet his mom because I consider that a sucess too. In Islam we believe one day we will have to answer to Allah, S.W.A. about our children (how we raised them and how we took care of them) because He entrusted them to us, let our answer be a big "Yes, I did the right thing my Lord. I directed them through the rigth path". At that moment "time has changed" and "economical recession" will not serve as an "excuse".

Sorry if this posting is a little long but this topic of "women progression" is something I have to deal with everyday, and I just wanted to share my thoughts with all of you.

Your sis.,
Maryam

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria's women police defy danger and stereotypes

ALGIERS, August 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Fatma-Zohra Benehmed watched her 26-year-old daughter graduate on Thursday from a police training academy in the Algerian capital and recalled how, at first, she was worried by her choice of career.

Even in relatively liberal Algeria, some people believe the police force is not a suitable profession for a Muslim woman, and, whatever your gender, it can be a dangerous job: Islamist insurgents have killed hundreds of officers.

"To begin with, I didn't want her to," Benehmed said, as her daughter and about 500 fellow female cadets displayed skills that included firing blank rounds from sub-machine guns and dismantling then re-assembling firearms in under 30 seconds.

"But she has persevered so much and I am happy. I respect her ... She wanted to do it. You have to be brave and you have to encourage your children. And besides, it's for our country."

Relatives of the cadets ululated and clapped while a group of young women, dressed in dark blue overalls and heavy boots, hurled each other to the ground in a demonstration of their hand-to-hand fighting skills.

In many parts of the Arab world, where conservative attitudes to the role of women in society are widespread, scenes like this would be unthinkable. But Algeria, a former French colony in North Africa where almost all the 35 million population are Muslim, takes pride in the fact that equality for women is enshrined in its laws.

Officials say that is a legacy of its struggle for independence, when women guerrillas fought alongside men against French troops, and when ideas about equality were shared with other left-wing liberation movements in Cuba and elsewhere. In practice, social norms mean Algerian women do not have complete freedom: many people consider it inappropriate, for example, for a woman to smoke in public.

Many of the female police officers who left the academy on Thursday will take up office jobs or be assigned to directing traffic. Few will go into front-line roles. Nevertheless, Algeria's police are working toward full equality, said Ali Tounsi, head of the national police force. "Women have won their place in society," he told Reuters after the ceremony. "In Algeria, we recognize the role of women in building the country ... In the war of independence, men and women were mobilized in equality." Asked about attitudes that women should stay at home and raise children, he said: "That is in the past."

Inside the academy building, a roll of honor carries the names and photographs of 25 women officers who have died in the line of duty -- most of them in the 1990s when the conflict between the government and Islamist militants was at its height. The violence has subsided now and women officers are rarely targeted. That does not mean though that the cadets who graduated on Thursday will be out of the firing line. Islamist insurgents affiliated to al Qaeda still mount regular ambushes and bomb attacks on security forces. In the latest major attack, at least 14 soldiers died last week when their convoy was ambushed, local media reported.

After the graduation ceremony was finished, commanders gave the order to stand down and the new police officers ran to embrace their families. Karima, a 23-year-old in a blue police overall, said the potential danger was not a problem for her. "It's for Algeria," she said, standing next to her father. "We are ready to do everything for Algeria."

[Al-khiyal]

Le nouveau DG de Aïn Naadja installé et le général Fatima-Zohra Ardjoune nommée à la tête de l'Ecole de la santé militaire

Lundi 28 Septembre 2009 -- Le général Mohamed-Bachir Souid a été officiellement installé, lundi 28 septembre dans la matinée, dans ses nouvelles fonctions de directeur général de l'hôpital militaire de Aïn Naadja, à Alger., a appris TSA de source proche de cette institution. Comme nous l'avions révélé, vendredi 25 septembre, il remplace à ce poste le général Mustapha Antar, qui a été démis de ses fonctions en fin de semaine dernière. Le professeur Souid, promu au grade de général en juillet 2008 par le chef de l'Etat, était jusque là à la tête de l'Ecole de la santé militaire de Aïn Naadja. Selon nos sources, il sera remplacé à ce poste par le professeur Fatima-Zohra Ardjoune. Cette dernière est la première femme général en Algérie et dans le monde arabe. Elle a été promue à ce grade le 5 juillet dernier par le président Bouteflika. Mme Ardjoune devrait être installée dans ses nouvelles fonctions dans les prochains jours.

[Al-khiyal]

Sortie de la 11e promotion d'agents féminins de l'ordre public

ALGER, Samedi 2 Janvier 2010 -- Une cérémonie de sortie de la 11e promotion d'agents féminins de l'ordre public baptisée du nom de la martyre de la guerre de libération Bahia Yantrane a été organisée jeudi à l'école de police de Ain Benian (Alger). Cette promotion se compose de 492 agents féminins ce qui porte leur nombre global à 6 049. Des diplômes et des cadeaux symboliques ont été remis, à cette occasion, aux cinq lauréates et à la mère de la martyre Bahia Yantrane. Des certificats d'honneur ont également été remis à des professeurs et des gestionnaires de l'école en signe de reconnaissance pour les efforts déployés durant leur carrière professionnelle pour l'amélioration de la qualité et du niveau de la sûreté nationale.

[Al-khiyal]

SEVE décerne ses prix 2009 à deux femmes chefs d'entreprises

ALGER, Samedi 16 Janvier 2010 -- L'association Savoir Et Vouloir Entreprendre (SEVE) a primé jeudi après-midi à Alger deux femmes chefs d'entreprises dont l'une a produit un feuilleton télévisé sur la biographie du martyr Aissat Idir, et l'autre pour l'élaboration d'une expertise dans le management du tourisme. Ainsi, le "trophée Seve-2009" a été remis à Mme Samira Hadjdjilani, directrice générale de la société ER-PROD, qui a produit un feuilleton de 15 épisodes sur la vie et le parcours du fondateur de l'Union générale des travailleurs algériens (UGTA), Aissat Idir. Le tournage du feuilleton a duré plus de deux ans et a coûté plus de 120 millions de dinars, a expliqué Mme Hadjdjilani dans une déclaration à l'APS.