Hablal drove the Algerian resistance

Nassima Hablal, Algerian revolutionary leader Abane Ramdane’s former secretary, passed away in the Birkhadem district of Algiers on Tuesday. She was 85 years old. Hablal began her career by establishing literacy and healthcare networks for underprivileged Algerian families just before the onset of the 1954 revolution. She was a foremost militant leader in the Algerian National Movement (MNA), having previously been an active member of the feminist branch of the Algerian People’s Party (PPA). She met Ramdane upon his arrival in Algiers in 1955. Initially charged with overseeing MNA propaganda production, she printed pamphlets condemning the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rival revolutionary group, in collaboration with Europeans. Hablal later became the point of contact between Abane and nationalist militant and trade union leader Aissat Idir, among other key players in the Algerian independence movement. She was a permanent member of the Algerian General Workers Union (UGTA), and wrote for El Moudjahid revolutionary newspaper and The Algerian Worker, a union publication. The National Liberation Front (FLN) eventually convened meetings with Ramdane at Hablal’s house. Following her arrest by French colonialists on February 21, 1957, she suffered atrocious assaults in multiple torture centres. She was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison. Hablal will be buried in Birkhadem.