How a veiled presentation of the news bulletin on Algerian television turned into "Fatah Mobin"

Exaggerations in celebration have turned individual freedom into a means of political blackmail.

A new media identity through women's clothing

A veiled media created the event on social media after presenting the main news bulletin on Algerian television. The exaggerated celebration sparked widespread controversy, especially since the majority of women in Algeria are veiled, with or without choice, in light of the penetration of extremist currents in the country.

ALGIERS- The appearance of the first veiled female anchor in the main news bulletin of Algerian state television during the past few days sparked a great celebration on social media and in some Arab media platforms.

For the first time in half a century, the veiled anchor, Najwa Jedi, appeared on state television to deliver the newscast, thus officially announcing the end of the undeclared ban on the veil on Algerian television.

Since independence, Algerian television has continued the policy of preventing veiled female journalists from appearing on its various channels, despite the absence of any explicit regulatory laws stipulating this, which some attributed to personal convictions and improvised decisions issued by successive officials in managing and running Algerian television since independence.

Algerian activists have previously accused Algerian television of deliberately banning veiled female anchors from presenting news bulletins.

The accusation came after it was reported in 2012 that the television prevented one of its anchors from resuming her work by presenting the news bulletin after the latter returned from the Hajj trip and decided to wear the hijab.

Journalist Nasira Mazhoud, who has been working on public television for more than two decades, adhered to the hijab after returning from Hajj, but was met with a decision to prevent her from presenting the main news bulletin upon her return to work again. For many years, Nassira Mazhoud has been on the throne of the main broadcast of Algerian television, which is broadcast at eight o'clock local time, and she also presents a political program on state television. However, sources from inside the TV denied that Mazhoud's prevention from presenting the news had anything to do with her veiling, and confirmed that there was a deep professional dispute between the announcer and her direct official.

Naima Madjer, the sister of the famous Algerian football star Rabah Madjer, was the first broadcaster to be banned after wearing the hijab.

In previous press statements, Naima Majer, who is currently working in the Arabic programs department on television, said that Algerian television produces terrific talents, "but in the end it abandons the country towards Arab satellite channels in search of a free environment in which exclusion or marginalization is not practiced under any name and seeks a broader space, In addition to the other advantages that you will gain, which are fame and money.”

The government-owned Al-Quran channel remains the only official channel that allows its broadcasters to appear in headscarves.

It is noteworthy that the Algerian newspaper Al-Shorouk quoted a source from within the Algerian state television that Najwa Gedi is indeed the first veiled journalist to present a major news bulletin. He added that since the movement, veiled women have been allowed to present programs. The writer known for his defense of the Brotherhood, Yasser Zaatara, said:

It is a negative official position on religiosity, according to its political connotations, and nothing else.

Observers were surprised by the contradictions in the Algerian scene, as Algerian women are leading electronic campaigns against the veil, which they are forced to wear, in reference to deep social transformations led by extremist currents. In the symbolic sphere of the state, women occupy a central position, as this state is able to export a social and cultural identity by controlling women's clothing.

Talk of the headscarf in conservative Algerian society is common. A study concluded that the veil is widespread at high rates for social, not religious, reasons, pointing to the decline of traditional dress such as Hayek in favor of the dress of a delegation to Algeria from the Arab Mashreq. Interestingly, at the same time, veiled women in Algeria face an unofficial ban from practicing some jobs or working in some sectors related to representing the country or dealing with foreigners.

In January 2019, the Algerian security authorities recorded 10 suicide cases of girls using the “hijab” (the veil) that they wear in a number of states without a link between them. Commentators considered that their suicide was a message of their suffering because of being forced to wear the hijab. The presenter, Ahmed Samir, said on the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Makameleen” channel:

The extremist currents in Algeria are adopting the theory of strategic patience based on “resisting the long soul” through profound changes in Algerian society. Commentators on social networking sites point to the soft return of the hijab and the robes as a social and religious phenomenon, through the penetration of some extremist religious currents, such as the Salafi current, which considers the robes and the hijab to be the core of religiosity, and all those affiliated with the movement are obligated to wear it regardless of their previous convictions.

It is noteworthy that a number of Algerian activists launched the hashtag #Hijab_Prisoners_in_Algeria on Twitter a while ago with the aim of raising awareness of the psychological and social harms caused by forcing girls to wear the veil, which sparked widespread controversy and debate.

The hashtag topped the list of the most popular in Algeria, and its divorcees pointed out that their goal is to educate Algerians about the dangers of forcing girls to wear the hijab at an early age. Commentators pointed out that they do not discuss the hypothesis of wearing the veil or not, and do not attack the veil in any way, stressing that their goal is to defend the right and freedom of women to control their body and make decisions while they are mature.

Women tweeters considered the veil as a form of discrimination against women, and others considered it a "repression" of their freedom, which caused them psychological disorders. They chanted phrases such as “the veil does not represent us” and “do not kill childhood,” and pointed out that “forced virtue does not create a virtuous society, but a hypocrite,” threatening that “the pressure that girls are exposed to will lead them to revolution and the inevitable explosion one day.” The campaign was met with great hysteria from the Islamists in Algeria, which reached the point of atonement for its divorcees.