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Look closely at this picture and examine it closely. It was taken by a French photographer and now it is displayed at the Algerian National Museum. This article is meant to shine a light on this Algerian heroine Ghazala bent Ammar who invented creative ways to defend her honor as well as women's honor in Algeria.
The name Ghazala translates to "gazelle" in English. The gazelle is a creature known for its elegance and grace, and it symbolizes beauty, agility and swiftness. Bent translates into daughter and Ammar is her father's name.
The French photographer who took this memorable picture wrote in his memoirs: "I have never been more scared in my life than when I took this picture of this woman in the Aures." The subject of the picture is a great Arab Algerian woman, the martyr Ghazala Bent Ammar from Taz in the Tébessa province, from the beloved country of one million martyrs, Algeria.
I should note here that France occupied Algeria for 132 years, from 1830 to 1962. I was 11 years old when Algeria gained its independence from France on July 3, 1962. Algeria has lost1.5 million martyrs in their fight for independence, and history will always remember the struggle of the brave Algerian men and women. Unfortunately, the road to independence was very blood and violent. And as Republican member of the United States House of Represnetatives, Charlie Dent Once said, (Freedom does not come without a price."
As soon as Ghazala would hear the roar of French enemy vehicles, she would immediately climb onto the roof of her house and shout at the women, who would come running toward her, heading toward the courtyard.
This courtyard is used for threshing grains (wheat and barley), where many women, aged 7 to 60, gather. Each one would hold the other's hand, transforming into a single human mass. If the French soldiers tried to pull a beautiful woman, dozens of women would hold her hands, preventing her from being sexually attacked.
Ghazalah also invented onion juice, which women would put in bottles and spray on their bodies when the enemy approached. She also smeared her face and limbs with charcoal accumulated on clay pots and smoke from wood fires. Other times, women would resort to using human feces or animal dung to discourage French soldiers from getting close to them.
Ghazala bent Ammar is a brave woman who is bet remember for pioneering a unique and unprecedent way to protect Algerian women from being harassed by French soldiers during the French occupation of Algeria. That was a creative way to force the French soldiers to keep a distance.
But when the French enemy discovered that she was the representative of the revolution in the absence of men, a senior SAS officer smashed her ribcage with the butt of his rifle. She vomited blood for three days until she succumbed to her injuries.
This is the story of the free woman, daughter of the Aures Mountains, the great lady Ghazala bent Ammar.
This noble act was one of the most important achievements of the blessed Algerian Revolution that I learned about during my visit to Algerian National Museum last February.
The story made me cry and from the look in her eyes, I felt the mountains bowing down in reverence and awe to her. She was a pure and intelligent soul and that was the time when women's honor was more precious than life. She was a heroine and a great role model.
Lastly, I would say that Ghazala bent Ammar is an Algerian legend whose name is easy to remember and hard to forget.
Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelancer and Ret. USAF veteran: He could be reached at elyousseph6@yahoo.com