Paid Work for Constantine Women: An Access Gate to Public Space

Abstract

In Algeria, paid work was once a manly business all that happened outside the house was reserved for men. The independence of the country has triggered profound socio-economic changes, which contributed to the insertion of women into the labour market. However, the attitude of the government towards the defence of women’s rights remained reserved, considering the weight of conservative and fundamentalist trends which reinforce the honour code in force and maintain women in minority status. Paid work has triggered a change in the Man/Woman and Inside/Outside report, although the outside behaviour of women is rapidly readjusted by men when it may violate the honour code. Today, in modern Algeria, nothing justifies the minority status of women.