STORIES
Freedom

Lala Fatma NSoumer

by Faiza from Algiers


The title Lala is given to women who are considered saints, just like the title Sidi for men. Fatma is a hero because of her own way of thinking. Women were not tolerated to make decisions as men but N'ssoumer knew how to impose herself: so she fought and resisted the French colonialism.

Lala Fatma N'Soumer was born in 1830 in Tizi-Ouzou. Her father was a Koranic school director, so she had a wide knowledge on our religion which was very unusual for a girl to do at that time. A wedding was arranged for her at the age of sixteen, despite her refusal. It was not long before people came from far and wide with gifts and asking for her advice.

Lala Fatma N'Soumer (lalla_fatma_n_ssumer-e7cc9.jpg)
Lala Fatma N'Soumer (lalla_fatma_n_ssumer-e7cc9.jpg)
For me a hero is someone who made a difference that could show something new. That is why I think Lala Fatma N'Soumer is a hero because she could fight the French colonialism even if she was a woman and proved to everybody and herself that women and men are the same. She defended her country until her death in 1863.

Unfortunately she wasn't alive when Algeria took her independence and women got their rights.

Page created on 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM

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