10949: the forgotten History of Algeria’s militant women

    Algeria’s National Organization of Mujahedeen (liberation war veterans) as well as the ministry that holds the same name acknowledged the participation of 10,949 women in the Algerian war of independence. 
The documentary “10949 Women” by Algerian filmmaker Nassima Guessoum is based on an interview with the late Algerian freedom fighter Nassima Hablal, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 85. Guessoum recalls that Nassima Hablal, the forgotten heroine of the Algerian revolution, told her story as a woman combatant in the war and her struggle for an independent Algeria. The amazing woman, who oozed intelligence and joy, also introduced the director to other Algerian female combatants. For the director, listening to these women tell their stories was like a granddaughter receiving the tale from her grandmothers. After she was accustomed to visiting them every year, she made a film that documents the process of passing this oral history from the first generation to the third.