Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (Arabic: فاطمة الزهراء إيمالاين; June 30, 1936 – February 6, 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar (Arabic: آسيا جبار), was an Algerian novelist, translator, and filmmaker. Her works often explore challenges faced by women, and she is recognized for her support of women's rights. She is often linked to movements focused on women's writing, and her novels highlight the history of Algerian women. Her political views strongly oppose both patriarchal systems and colonial rule. Djebar is considered one of North Africa's most respected and influential writers. She was elected to the Académie Française on June 16, 2005, becoming the first writer from the Maghreb region to receive this honor. For her entire body of work, she was awarded the 1996 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. She was often considered a possible winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Early life
Fatima-Zehra Imalayen, also known as Djebbar, was born on June 30, 1936, in Cherchell, Algeria. Her parents were Tahar Imalhayène and Bahia Sahraoui, who were members of the Chenoua Berber group. She grew up in Cherchell, a small coastal village near Algiers in the Aïn Defla province. Her father taught French at Mouzaïaville, a primary school where she studied. Later, she attended a private Quranic school in Blida, where she was one of only two girls. She then enrolled at Collège de Blida, a high school in Algiers, where she was the only Muslim student in her class. In 1955, she entered the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles, becoming the first Algerian and Muslim woman to study at one of France's most prestigious schools. Her education was paused because of the Algerian War, but she later continued her studies in Tunis.
Career
In 1957, she used the name Assia Djebar when she published her first novel, La Soif ("The Thirst"). The next year, she released another book called Les Impatients. In 1958, she married Ahmed Ould-Rouïs, but they later divorced. Djebar taught at the University of Rabat from 1959 to 1962. After that, she taught at the University of Algiers, where she became the head of the French department.
In 1962, Djebar returned to Algeria and published Les Enfants du Nouveau Monde. She released another book, Les Alouettes Naïves, in 1967. Between 1965 and 1974, she lived in Paris before returning to Algeria again. In 1980, she remarried to the Algerian poet Malek Alloula. The couple lived in Paris, where she worked as a researcher at the Algerian Cultural Center.
In 1997, Djebar became the director of the Center for French and Francophone Studies at Louisiana State University. She held this role until 2001. In 1985, she published L'Amour, la fantasia (translated as Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, Heinemann, 1993). In this book, she discussed her mixed feelings about language and her identity as a Western-educated, Algerian, feminist, Muslim intellectual. She also talked about her role as a voice for Algerian women and women worldwide.
In 2005, Djebar was elected to France’s top literary group, the Académie Française. This group is responsible for protecting the French language. Its members, called "immortals," are chosen for life. Djebar was the first person from North Africa to join the group and the fifth woman to be elected. She was also a Silver Chair professor of Francophone literature at New York University.
Djebar was known as a voice for change in Islam across the Arab world, especially for advocating greater rights for women.
Awards
In 1985, she won the Franco-Arab Friendship Prize for her work L'Amour la Fantasia. In 1996, Djebar received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature for her contributions to world literature. The next year, she won the Marguerite Yourcenar Prize. In 1998, she received the International Prize of Palmi. In 2000, she won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Tributes
On June 30, 2017, Google celebrated the novelist's 81st birthday anniversary with a Doodle. The Doodle was seen in all countries of the Arab World. In 2018, a library named after Djebar was opened in the 20th district of Paris.