The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria has an estimated
population of 35.4 million (UN, 2010). The capital is Algiers.
Algeria has an area of 2.4 million sq km (919,595 sq miles). The
main languages are Arabic, French, and Berber. A former French
colony, Algeria is recovering from decades of violence. The
fight for independence from France, which occurred throughout
the 1950’s, killed more than a million Algerians. Independence
was finally achieved in 1962. The country was once again beset
by brutal internal violence during the 1992 elections. Despite
the overall decrease in violence since the 1990s, the country is
facing instability through a campaign of terror carried out by
Al-Qaeda in the land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM). Due to the
country's history and the big influence of Islamist groups over
the past 20 years, the situation of women in Algeria is very
difficult. Women are largely discriminated against because the
family code which is closely linked to the Islamic Sharia Law.
However, in 2003 the g