Fantasia: an Algerian cavalcade by Assia Djebar

fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar remarkable book by Assia Djebar takes on the reader to a place where he learns about the specific gendered cultures and women who seek to attain an identity in such male oriented societies. People back then had specific roles prescribed for the women which normally had to do with the household. "The work mixed autobiography, historical accounts of the French conquest of 1830, and the Algerian War" (Anonymous). The book deals with the inner self of the author herself and thus can be partly called an autobiography. Another aspect of the book is the historical one which deals with the history of Algeria right till 1962 when it was liberated. Narratives are found by different people in different timeframes and the book is also a reflection on language. In the book she reminds us about the heroism of the women of the past which has been forgotten today. It has served to be a bridge between the philosophies as well as the experiences undergone by the women of the East to the feminism of the West.

Algerian culture has been greatly influenced by Islam which is the mostly practiced religion there. Algeria however was affected the most by the colonial impact as compared to the other Arab countries that has suffered European rule. Education sectors were completely controlled by the French as well as business and government. Through these attempts were made to curb the Algerian cultural identity and the French wanted to shape and mold them according to themselves and incorporate in them their language and culture. Today the effects of these are seen in the widely spoken French in Algeria. Their justification was that they wanted to civilize the people of Algeria. Algeria, prior to the French invasion had a very high literacy rate. This was because every man, to be able to follow their religion had to be able to read and understand the Quran. Therefore it can be said that Islam requires every follower to be literate and hence schools where they taught to read the Quran were widespread in Algeria. The French invasion left this completely destroyed and shattered and about half of the schools that were operational and working to educate the Algerians before the French conquest were shut down by them. This action was taken as a result of their policies which stated that the Algerians should be introduced to the French form of education and hence they shutdown the schools that educated the Algerians regarding their religion and beliefs.

The Algerians were deprived of their culture and their language of Arabic which remained then only as a means for everyday communication while schools and other official affairs were all conducted in French. This gave rise to the upper and lower classes where the elites spoke fluent French and they entered into the competitive circles regarding jobs. This creation of classes of the elite and non-elite was against the rules, principles and the spirit of Islam, yet the Algerians under influence of the French were torn into such classes. The Europeans are known for the "divide and rule" policies. The division was made successfully and now they thought it would be easy for them rule without much resistance. Their assumption did not prove to be very accurate and the resistance started to fight for the revival of Arabic and the Islamic culture. Their stand was to keep Arabic as the official language of Algeria. Their fight was for the cause to establish the same values and create their own identity and follow their lives according to what their religion taught them. They wanted to be just the way they were before the French conquest. Islam has always taught the people to fight against the oppressors and to the Algerians, French were the oppressor and they would do anything to fight against them to achieve victory and independence.

Women did not have much of an importance with the French and they believed in male dominance and education. Pre-French era had schools for women where they were educated. The French were highly against the education of the women and forced the school operators to convert the schools into places where women were taught embroidery and other arts and crafts. "Auclert critiqued the French colonial regime in Algeria for refusing to establish sufficient schools for girls and even closing some academic institutions to replace them with native handicraft workshops" (Anonymous). It was during the French rule that the French tried to eradicate Islamic values and culture from the hearts of the women. They stated that they wanted to "liberate" the Algerian women. The French also aimed to eliminate the practice of veiling which the women of Islam practice. They consider it to be a command from God Almighty and thus observe it. "In Fantasia, she shows us how the 'mother tongue' also requires that women veil themselves, never expose themselves directly" (Nancy Von Rosk, p.65). The French however had a sick mind to which liberation meant unveiling. The French however underestimated the binding force of unity which Islam brings in the hearts of believers and thus there was unification among people and women to fight for their freedom. "Servants under the threat of being fired, poor women dragged from their homes, prostitutes, were brought to the public square and symbolically unveiled to cries of 'Vive l' Algerie francaise'" (Frantz Fanon, p.62). Behavior like such had to give rise to an opposition and a rebellious attitude.

Finally a war broke out and the women participated bravely in it. Following the footsteps of the Islamic women during the time of their prophet Muhammad, the women did not step back in the war for independence and fought bravely side by side the men against the French colonists. For a moment the role of women completely changed and they were not considered to be inferior to men. They proved to be able to fight as well as their male counterparts, maybe even better. The Algerian women knew that the only liberation which they desired was liberation from the French government and not liberation from the Islamic values and culture. It is these women which Assia Djebar talks about and wishes to remind us about. She wants us to know what women are capable of doing and achieving and that it would be unfair to forget their efforts and blood that was spent in the cause of the liberation of Algeria and for the safekeeping of the Islamic values.

When the French faced humiliation and had to run out of Algeria, Algeria had become independent. The efforts of the men and women of Algeria paid off. No one can deny the role that women played in the war but as soon as the war was over and there were celebrations all over Algeria, the men began telling women to go back to home. It was as if they used the women for their purpose and now that the purpose was over, the women were told to go back to their homes and stay there. The idea of male domination was already installed in the minds of the Algerian males and the women had to go back to their homes.