Fatima Ait Ouarra

Algerian feminist and educator who pioneered women's rights during French colonial rule

Fatima Ait Ouarra (1905-1978) was a Berber educator and feminist leader who challenged both French colonial authorities and traditional gender norms in Algeria. Born in the Kabylie region, she founded the first girls' school in her village at age 22 using funds from her own weaving business. Her Wikipedia page details her establishment of 17 schools across Kabylie by 1940, educating over 3,000 girls. She later became a founding member of the Union des Femmes Algériennes in 1956, advocating for women's suffrage and land rights during the war of independence. Her 1958 manifesto Women's Liberation as National Liberation remains a seminal text in postcolonial feminist theory.