ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the six major findings. First, Algerian women, like other women, are not a context unto themselves. Their roles and statuses are shaped by historical as well as structural forces such as modes of production, imperialism/colonialism, kinship structure and Sufism. Second, colonialism was not a benevolent system of government that served women's needs. Third, religious values as they affect women can be asserted at conjunctural times. Fourth, the Algerian case demonstrates that culture is identical with the concept of woman. Fifth, women's rights may not be implemented or protected without the state's active participation. At the same time, the state can and will use women to further its own political interests without necessarily addressing its essential ambivalence and ambiguity towards women. Sixth and finally, silence and time are categories of analysis that ought to be developed in the study of women cross-culturally.
