Ben supported the anti-French National Liberation Front (FLN) from the beginning of the Algerian War of Independence, and joined the communist Combattants de la Libération guerrilla group where she helped transport weapons.[1] The French government considered her a criminal and sentenced her, in absentia, to 20 years of hard labor, however she was never captured and years later would be forgiven.[1] When the war ended in 1962, Ben became a member of the independent Algerian government.[1]