Assia Djebar (born Fatima-Zohra Imalayan), a proponent of female subjectivity and self-discovery through writing, has received worldwide recognition as novelist, filmmaker and poet, and was the first North African woman to join the Académie Française in 2006. Djebar’s work explores the destiny of Maghrebian women in a male-centered world where the female body becomes a source of knowledge and power. Her novels are written in French and have been translated into several languages.

Born in Cherchell, Algeria on August 4, 1936, Djebar’s early schooling took place in a primary school where her father taught French. Djebar’s French education will play a major role in her development as historian and writer. Later, her years at the Collège de Blida, in the capital city of Algiers, as

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Citation: Visoi, Marie-Anne. "Assia Djebar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 July 2009; last revised 01 April 2015. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12358, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12358 Assia Djebar 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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