ABSTRACT
When Algeria’s independence from France was declared on July 3, 1962, one hundred and thirty-tw o years after the establishm ent of a colonial system of dom ination, it seemed as if it caught Algerian leaders by surprise. The ideological nature of the various policy decla rations they m ade from 1954 to 1962 was revealed to the Algerian public in all its starkness, as a power struggle between factions of the F.L.N. ensued while the French were withdrawing. The lack of a political and economic program tailored to the historically-specific Algerian situation was evident as a new state was formed on the ruins of the colonial governm ent structures. This had momentous consequences for women. Indeed, not being organized as a political faction or as m em bers of one, they could rely only on leaders' memo ries of their contribution to independence for the promotion of their rights and the recognition of their needs.
