Khalida Messaoudi (1998)
Khalida Messaoudi received the LI Prize for Freedom in 1998 for her efforts in the promotion of Human Rights and for her fight for the position of women in Algeria.
Since the elections of April 1997, she has been a member of the Algerian National Popular Assembly as a deputy for the RCD (Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie).
Khalida Messaoudi continues to be an activist in the feminist movement while also working energetically for democracy and Human Rights. In June 1998, her work, Une Algérienne Debout ('Unbowed: An Algerian Woman Confronts Islamic Fundamentalism') was published. It is written in the form of a dialogue between Messaoudi and the journalist Elisabeth Schemla. In addition, she was met by the UN Mission in Algeria near the time of publication.
She has also signed an appeal: 'A Call for Peace, for a Commitment between Jews and Arabs throughout the World to Support Peace and Fight Terrorism'. And she has, with others, set up an original Internet site that now provides the world with news about Algeria.
An article written by Frits Bolkestein based on an interview with Ms Messaoudi can be found in the Aerogramme, Issue 35: 'Land in Twilight'