According to Moghadam (1993:95), about 10,000 women joined the Algerian revolution. However, most of them performed roles that were usually seen as "feminine" such as nursing, cooking, and cleaning. Despite this, there were still a good amount of women who participated in the front lines. As seen in the film The Battle of Algiers (1966), women planted bombs in cafes. It film also showed that there was a bond of trust between the men and women in the FLN because women were trusted to do such dangerous tasks. The war also helped change the societal norm for women. Due to the fact that men and women were both occupied with the war, men had less expectation towards women to perform their traditional duties (Shaaban 1998:183). Participation in the war really helped close the gap between men and women because both were fighting for the same cause and there was constant interaction between the two genders. .
The FLN was not the only group that pushed for female equality. The French soon began to realize the crucial role that women played in the war for independence. The French tried to push them away from participating in the wars by starting emancipation campaigns (Lazreg 1994). The French assumed that by giving them more rights, they would be discouraged to help out in the war effort. According to Lazreg (1994), one of the French propagandas was an effort to increase education for women via Plan de Constantine. In 1954, 98% of Muslim women were illiterate, so it was a way to influence women by promising them a change in their lifestyle (Heggoy 1974). The French also tried to gain favor from Algerian women by establishing Ordonnance No. 59-274 (Camacho de Abes 1984). This for the first time, gave women more say in their marriage. As mentioned earlier, the Maliki laws restricted women from even consenting in marriage. The Ordonnance established a few guidelines: the legal age of marriage for women was 15 and 18 for men, mutual agreement was required from both parties (not by the male kin from the woman's side), divorce could be initiated by either party, and the marriage had to be validated by a state official (Camacho de Abes 1984).
