Djamila Bouhired

Djamila Bouhired (Arabic: جميلة بوحيرد, born June 1935^[2]) is an Algerian nationalist militant,^[2] who opposed the French colonial rule of Algeria as a member of the National Liberation Front.

Not to be confused with Djamila Boupacha.

Djamila Bouhired
Born	June 1935 (age 90) Algiers, French Algeria (now Algeria)
Organization	National Liberation Army (ALN)
Movement	National Liberation Front (FLN)
Spouse	Jacques Vergès (1965[1]–1970)
Children	2

In 1957, she was convicted alongside another Algerian rebel, Djamila Bouazza, of bombing a cafe and killing 11 people. She was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted after an international campaign for her to be spared, and she was released from prison in 1962.

Biography

The Installers of bombs (Algeria War)

Djamila Bouherid was born into a middle-class family in colonial Algeria.^[3] Her brothers were involved with the underground nationalist resistance movement, and Bouhired joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) while a student activist. During the Algerian War, she worked as a liaison agent for FLN commander Saadi Yacef in Algiers.^[4]

In April 1957, before a large planned demonstration in the Casbah, she was captured by the French and tortured for information. Bouhired maintains that she did not confess to any wrongdoing or reveal any confidential information about the FLN. According to Bouhired, the torture went on for a total of 17 days.^{[citation needed]}

Arrest and death sentence

In July 1957, she was tried for allegedly bombing a cafe frequented by French settlers, alongside another Algerian rebel, Djamila Bouazza, aged 19.^[3] At the time the French lawyer Jacques Vergès, sympathetic to the cause of the Algerian nationalists, heard of her case and decided to represent her. During the trial, Vergès waged a public relations campaign on Bouhired's behalf and accused the French government of having committed the bombing themselves. Despite Vergès's efforts, Bouhired was convicted and sentenced to death by guillotine.^{[citation needed]}

Vergès co-wrote a plea arguing that Bouhired should not receive the death penalty. Various protest groups formed throughout Algeria and abroad lobbied the government not to kill Bouhired, including Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco, who contacted the French President René Coty to ask that Bouhired be spared from the death sentence. After being spared, Bouhired served a prison sentence in the Reims prison until 1962.^[3] As the end of the war drew near, she was released along with many other Algerian prisoners.^{[citation needed]}

Vergès claimed to have become a target of the French colonial government, which allegedly launched several failed assassination attempts against him, including a bomb placed in his apartment and another in his car.^[5]

Post-war life

Bouhired and Vergès married a year after Algeria's independence, by which point Vergès had converted to Islam and taken the first name Mansoor. The couple had two children, Meriem and Liess Vergès. Bouhired separated from Vergés in 1970, after seven years together.^[5] She became chairwoman of the Algerian Women Association in independent Algeria, and was a frequent critic of Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella.^{[citation needed]}

Djamila Bouhired now lives in Algiers, and continues to participate in protests and marches for several causes, including the 2019 Algerian protests.^[6]

In popular culture

Bouhired has been portrayed in several films, including:

• Jamila, the Algerian (1958) by Egyptian director Youssef Chahine
• One of the trio of FLN female bombers depicted in the 1966 film The Battle of Algiers (1966)
• Terror's Advocate (2007), a documentary film about Jacques Vergès.

Honours

• Tunisia : Order of the Republic – Grand Officer (2020)^[7]