The attempted femicide on Ryma Anane, doused in gasoline and burned in the middle of the street, shocks Algeria

Ryma Anane, 28, escaped in extremis to death. Burned in the third and fourth degrees on 60% of her body, the young woman received a first reconstructive surgery at the University Hospital of La Paz, in Madrid, where she was transferred on Friday October 14 on board a medical plane in from Algeria, accompanied by her brother. “She is still on life support but she is much better”, confides a relative. The French teacher at a private school in Tizi Ouzou was attacked on September 26 by her ex-boyfriend, who had been harassing her for three years, as she waited for a bus to get to work. He doused her with gasoline and burned her with a lighter.

In the small Kabyle village of Aït Farès, where the tragedy took place, the approximately 900 inhabitants are still in shock. “Men who beat their wives, we unfortunately know some, but we had never seen such a barbaric act in the middle of the street”, says a cousin of the victim. The attacker, who surrendered to the gendarmerie a few hours after the attack, is still in detention. According to his confession, he wanted revenge on the young woman because she refused to marry him.

Thirty-two women have been killed since January, most burned to death or stabbed

It was in similar circumstances that the first feminicide recorded this year in Algeria occurred. On January 3, Hafida Mansouri, a resident of Oum el Bouaghi, in the Aurès, was killed, burned and then buried by her neighbor for having rejected her marriage proposal. “Perpetrators of femicide don’t just want to kill a woman, they want to destroy her body”, underlines Wiame Awres, co-founder of Féminicides Algérie. According to this collective founded in 2019, 32 women have been killed since January, most of them burned alive or stabbed. Two common operating modes “in the Maghreb and Mashreq countries”notes the activist, who recalls the tragic story of a resident of Annaba, Imene Mansri, who was assassinated with 19 stab wounds by her husband on June 6: “It was a relentlessness. »

As elsewhere in the world, feminicides in Algeria are in the overwhelming majority of cases committed by a man from the victim’s close circle, most often a husband or ex-spouse who does not accept the breakup. “There is a desire to possess and control the person, to refuse that they can live without him”analyzes Wiame Awres.

Solidarity campaign

The attempted femicide on Ryma Anane has caused a stir across the country. Thousands of messages of support have flooded the Internet, denouncing a “heinous crime”. His mother’s cry of distressaired on October 10, has been viewed more than 200,000 times on Facebook.

Very quickly, a solidarity campaign was set up on social networks to help the family evacuate the victim urgently. The severe burns department of the CHU Nedir-Mohamed in Tizi Ouzou, where the injured had first been admitted, did not have the necessary means to take care of her. “His vital prognosis was engaged”says a cousin.

With the help of ADM International, a company supporting patients abroad based in Switzerland, her family finally managed to have her hospitalized in Madrid, in an establishment that offers a lower estimate, payable in installments. . “During these few days of waiting, we could have lost her”, lets go of his cousin. A online kitty has already raised more than 60,000 euros, out of a target of 100,000 euros.

This time, public opinion clearly sided with the victim. ” It’s not always the case. Usually, people seek to minimize the act of the aggressor by finding extenuating circumstances.advances Wiame Awres, who however remarks “an awareness of the problem of feminicides in society: we begin to understand that these are not isolated cases, that it is repeated”. Anissa Smati, lawyer at the court of Algiers and member of the Wassila Network, an association for the protection of the rights of women and children, agrees: “We talk about it more and more. But this does not mean that this scourge is diminishing. »

forgiveness clause

The drama experienced by Ryma Anane highlights the country’s difficulties in combating feminicides and assassination attempts on women – the exact number of which remains difficult to quantify.

In 2021, the gendarmerie services handled nearly 8,000 cases of violence against women

The capacity for action of the public authorities was however strengthened in 2016, with the entry into force of an amendment to the penal code which criminalizes domestic violence, introduces the concept of harassment and increases the penalties for a physical attack on a woman. . But for feminist activists, the legal protection of abused women remains insufficient. In question, an article of law which allows the aggressor to escape criminal prosecution if the victim forgives him. “The pardon clause offers impunity to violent men, it reduces the scope of the law”says Wiame Awres.

In 2021, the gendarmerie services handled nearly 8,000 cases of violence against women – twice as many as in 2014. But many victims, under the psychological influence of their spouse and faced with family and social pressure, would give up going at the end of their walk. “They are told that by taking the case to court, they are destroying their family. As if it was not the violent man who was responsible for the destruction of the family”deplores the co-founder of Féminicides Algeria.

Specializing in the defense of abused women, Anissa Smati has experienced this. “The legal process is long and exhausting. They often give up. Either they forgive and return to their husband, or they prefer to divorce, which does not necessarily protect them”indicates the lawyer, who regrets that the legal framework “does not yet take psychological violence into consideration” and do not plan “protection order to keep violent spouses away”.

Obstacle course

Filing a complaint is still an obstacle course. Despite the training of police officers on receiving and listening to victims, little has changed in the police stations. “They are not always taken seriously”regrets Wiame Awres, who cites the murder of Kelthoum Reklia, 33, killed in February by her ex-spouse in front of two of their children when she had alerted the security services on several occasions.

For Anissa Smati, if women remain in violent relationships, it is also because they have nowhere to take refuge. Algeria has eight accommodation centers, managed by the State, where the rules of life are very strict. ” It’s not enoughassures the lawyer. Those from a wealthy background or with decent incomes can emancipate themselves and try to rebuild their lives. But the majority have no choice but to stand and take the hits. »

She adds : “The problem is not only in the law, it is also in mentalities. As long as women are considered inferior beings, violence against them will continue to be trivialized. »