No information on the extent to which the hejab is worn in Algeria could be found in the sources the Research Directorate was able to consult within the time constraints of this Response.

However, an article published in the October 1997 issue of Le Monde diplomatique, alluding to the attitude of Algerian women with respect to the hejab, indicates that

[translation provided in the English version of Le Monde diplomatique]

[u]nlike 20 years ago, many of the women who work are no longer embarrassed to wear a veil. Most of them do so because the hejab hides their poverty and because it enables them to pass unnoticed in the street and so incur less unwelcome attention. They would still describe themselves as "modern", however (14-15).

An article published in 1995 in Les cahiers de L'Orient mentions that

[translation]

[m]any women wear the hejab as it allows them the freedom to move about, indeed the right to exist. Even women who wear the veil reject the role men assign to them. While adhering to the Sharia, they realize that they must overcome all the ancestral patriarchal attitudes that characterize Algerian society and that have nothing to do with religion.

A November 1996 Amnesty International article reported that [quotation taken from the English version of the AI report] "[c]ommuniques signed by the GIA or other armed groups repeatedly threatened with death ... women who do not wear the hidjab or who go to mixed schools, college and university students...."

A 31 December 1997 Agence France Presse (AFP) article indicates that [translation] "the Armed Islamic Group [Groupe islamique armée, or GIA] has been for some weeks distributing leaflets setting out strict rules in the capital, in an attempt, among other things, to enforce the wearing of the hejab (veil) and a ban on smoking for men."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 31 December 1998. "Version actualisée, confirmation du bilan, nouveaux témoignages." (IRB databases)

Amnesty International. November 1996. Algérie - le silence et la peur (AI Index: MDE28/11/96. London: Amnesty International. (REFWORLD)

Les Cahiers de l'Orient [Paris]. Special Issue 1995. Khadidja Abada. "Les femmes: histoire d'une manipulation." http://www.sfiedi.fr/cahiers/Cah3P.html [Accessed 5 May 1998]

Le Monde Diplomatique [Paris]. October 1997. Baya Gacemi. "Illusions perdues et espoirs des femmes."

http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/1997/10/GACEMI/9310.htm [Accessed 5 May 1998]

Resource Centre Country Files: Algeria.

Additional Sources Consulted

Femmes sous lois musulmanes. 1996. Dossier d'information sur la situation en Algérie. Résistance des femmes et solidarité internationale.

Electronic sources: IRB databases, Internet, FBIS, NEXIS, REFWORLD.