Horria Saihi: A Portrait

Algerian Horria Saïhi is perhaps best known for her indefatigable work as journalist, reporter, and filmmaker against government censorship and religious fundamentalism. A 1995 laureate of the "Courage Award" presented by the International Women's Media Foundation, she currently lives in exile in France. I recall a very touching moment as she reflected on this celebratory occasion during our conversation at the 15th edition of FESPACO in 1997:

In 1995 I was invited to the United States and never imagined that on the other side of the ocean there existed, Americans—whites as well as blacks, who had their eyes on Algeria. They were listening and watching; I was very touched. I was invited to receive the "Courage Award" by the International Women’s Media Foundation. It was heartwarming to find myself in the middle of New York, it was a dream. I had tears in my eyes, it was very powerful. I received the prize in the name of the Algerian people; I dedicated it to the women of Algeria. The award was represented as an eagle with widespread wings, which represented force but also fragility, because it was made of crystal…

In France, Horria continues her struggle against political violence against women and religious extremism. More than a decade after the release of Algérie en Femmes in 1996, her film continues to be relevant as evident in the venues to which she is invited to screen and discuss the film. Notably, at the 2008 meeting of the French-based Union des Familles Laïques (Mouvement laïque d’education populaire) of which she holds the post of president of the UFAL-Saint-Denis.

Horria also presented Algérie en Femmes at the Maison René-Ginouvès, Archéologie et Ethnologie in November 2009, and in 2007 the film was featured at two events: as part of International Women’s Day she participated in the colloquium, Rencontre féministe sur les Femmes et l'Algérie organized by the Marche Mondiale des Femmes contre les Violences et la Pauvreté, and at the Festival Cineffable at which the film won the ProChoix Award—all venues are based in France.

Also during our conversation Horria had this to say regarding Algérie en Femmes:

Algerie en femmes resembles the title of a film that was made by René Vautier, which is called Algerie en flamme, it was about the war of liberation. In Algerie en femmes, I speak of the struggle of women. It is an intersecting perspective of a woman filmmaker and a woman photographer. The latter makes an imprint of the moment, the former speaks about her profession. There is also another realm of women: an artist-painter who continues to paint although it is prohibited; a peasant woman who takes up arms; and the wife of a director of fine arts—her husband assassinated at the same time as their son. I speak both of life and death simultaneously. It is this combat of which we are in the midst at the moment.

Relevant Links about Horria Saïhi

Algérie en femmes - Interview de Horria Saihi par Raina - Vidéo : http://www.socialgerie.net/spip.php?breve637
Conversation with Horria Saihi by Beti Ellerson (1997) - Sisters of the Screen

Horria Saihi – 1995 Laureate, Courage Award, International Women’s Media Foundation : http://www.iwmf.org/blog/1995/10/16/horria-saihi-1995-courage-in-journalism-award/

Festival Cineffable : ProChoix rend hommage au film "Algérie en femmes" : https://www.prochoix.org/cgi/blog/index.php/2007/11/08/1815-festival-cineffable-prochoix-rend-hommage-au-film-algerie-en-femmes

African Women “Courage Award” Laureates

Since the International Women’s Media Foundation (USA) launched the “Courage Award” in 1990 more than 100 journalists from 56 countries have joined the list of fearless laureates, working in the diverse media of television, radio, print, and film.

Laureates from Africa include: Mwape Kumwenda (Zambia) 2015, Lusiku Nsimire (Congo-DRC) 2014, Reeyot Aleum (Ethiopia) 2012, Vicky Ntetema (Tanzania) 2010, Agnes Taile (Cameroon) 2009, Serkalem Fasil (Ethiopia) 2007, South African-born Gwen Lister (Namibia) and Salima Tlemcani (Algeria) 2004, Sandra Nyaira (Zimbabwe) 2002, Amal Abbas (Sudan) 2001, Agnes Nidorera (Burundi) 2000, Lucy Sichone (Zambia) and Saida Ramadan (Sudan) 1996, Horria Saihi (Algeria) and Chris Anyanwu (Nigeria) 1995, Catherine Gicheru (Kenya) 1992.

As we applaud their courage and fortitude, the award also reminds us of the perilous work of media professionals.

I had the pleasure of meeting Algerian Horria Saihi, one of the 1995 "Courage Award" laureates, at the 1997 FESPACO (Panafrican Film Festival of Ouagadougou) during which she presented her film Algérie en femmes. In the interview, she recounted her daunting experiences in the contemporary crisis of the fundamentalist war on culture. She had this to say about winning the "Courage Award":

"In 1995, I was invited by the International Women’s Media Foundation to received the Courage Award. It was heartwarming, really, to find myself in the middle of New York, it was a dream. I actually had tears in my eyes, it was very powerful. I received the prize in the name of the Algerian people. I dedicated the award to all the women. It was an eagle with widespread wings which represented force, but also fragility, because it was made of crystal.

I dedicated the award to two women, the women who have marked my life. One was a very good friend, a colleague and journalist, Rachida Hammadi who was assassinated by terrorist fundamentalists. She was of such fragility. She was not tall, only four feet nine inches, and frail, but of a courageous and implacable will. She was always busy and constantly in the field. You could always hear her saying "I was told that such and such a thing has just happened, we must go there." She never said that she was tired. This woman symbolized this courage for me. It is not me who was awarded this prize, it was Algeria, it was these women who continued to remain standing, who carried Algeria in their two arms.

I dedicated it to another woman who I met in a region that has suffered tremendously, Jijel, which is 500 kilometers from Algiers. It is a zone that has a reputation for being the stronghold of fundamentalists terrorists. There I met a marvelous woman. I say marvelous because, having come from a big city, we only meet intellectual women who are well-read, articulate, who are able to say what they think. But these women, we do not meet outside in the streets. Moreover, the press, the television, the cinema are interested in women who are very present before the camera, who are mediatized by the national and international press. However, this woman was in the countryside, she cultivated the land, she participated in the national liberation war in the capacity of a fighter. During the last nine months of the war she was pregnant. Thus, she was at the same time fighter and mother. And this woman brought into the world, the day of independence 5 July 1962, a child who she called Abdullah. Abdullah means the child of God, the creation of God. She could have died with the child in her womb, and yet she carried him right up until independence and brought him into the world. This child's mother, who was not literate, wanted to give him a good education--a sort of payback for her--so that he could be intelligent and go to the best schools and universities. And her son was assassinated by the terrorists. This woman took up arms again, not to avenge her son in a feudal manner, but to avenge him by continuing the fight, so that there will never be blood in our country again."

Report by Beti Ellerson. Updated April 2018.

Link: Courage Award - https://www.iwmf.org/awards/courage-in-journalism-awards/