Tortured Bodies, Resilient Souls: Algeria's Women Combatants Depicted by Danièle Djamila Amrane-Minne, Louisette Ighilahriz, and Assia Djebar

Algerian women participated actively in Algeria's liberation struggle (1954-1962), but, as Algerian historian Danièle Djamila Amrane-Minne notes, their contribution has often been overlooked by historians and the public at large. Drawing upon the three sources Amrane-Minne cites as areas of omission—fiction, memoirs, historical research—my study addresses two interrelated questions posed by this special issue: To what extent does the search for the "truth" about the past reveal hidden histories? How do the dynamics of gender intersect with efforts at social restoration and collaboration? Selections include Amrane-Minne's historical study—originally her doctoral thesis—La guerre d'Algerie (1954-1962), Femmes au combat (1993), Louisette Ighilariz's memoir, Algérienne (2001), and Assia Djebar's novel, La femme sans sépulture [Woman without a Tomb] (2002). Representing diverse genres and introducing multiple voices, these three texts are forms of testimonial literature; each in its way grapples with the physical and psychological demands of intense political engagement.