Fathia Bettahar

Biography

Fathia Bettahar (27 August 1936 – 4 August 2021) was an Algerian teacher, policy advisor, and women's rights activist. After completing her schooling at the normal school in Oran in 1955, she taught from 1956 to 1964 before moving into school administration until 1974. During this time, she became involved in women's rights issues and joined the Union nationale des femmes algériennes (National Union of Algerian Women). She was particularly interested in initiatives to help women and girls gain an education. In 1974, she was elected as secretary general of the National Union of Algerian Women, and simultaneously served as the secretary general of the Pan-African Women's Organization (PAWO). She attended numerous women's conferences including the 1975 World Conference on Women hosted in Mexico City, the 1975 Women's International Democratic Federation Congress of Berlin, East Germany, and the 1985 World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, Kenya. She was a vice president of the WIDF from 1975 to 1981, while continuing as the PAWO leader until 1986.

Between 2001 and 2021, Bettahar served on the Commission nationale consultative de protection et de promotion des droits de l'homme (National Advisory Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, CNCPPDH). This independent Algerian body monitored human rights legislation and conditions in the country. Throughout her life, she received numerous honors, including Cuba's Order of Ana Betancourt, the Guinean National Order of Merit, and the National Order of Mali. Along with the founding mothers of PAWO, her portrait is displayed at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.