Zuhur Wanasi

Background

Wanasi was born in December of 1937 in Constantine, Algeria, where she lived until adulthood.

Career

She is known for her powerful short stories and for her role as one of the first women in Algerian government. Wanasi obtained two degrees in literature and philosophy at the University of Algiers. She continued her studies at a graduate level at the University of Algiers, specializing in sociology.

Wanasi is one of the first women to hold high level positions in the Algerian government.

In her 18 months at the Department of Education, Wanasi she spent time working to reform administration and address access to school materials. She made comments about the French language in the schools, saying that she was not against the learning of French, just against the ideological association to the language.

Achievements

• Also, Wanasi"s writing depicts women's feelings as they explores human and social customs, Foreign her groundbreaking writing during the Algerian Revolution, Wanasi received the Medal of Resistance and the Medal of Appreciation in Media and Culture.

Politics

As an active voice in the People"s National Assembly, she called for political parties to be unified when working for the youth of Algeria.

Membership

She was also a founding member of the literary magazine, The Algerian. She is a member of the Writers Union of Algeria, a body of writers who discusses the role of writers in Algerian society. She was a member of the National Peoples Council from 1977 to 1982, the Minister of Social Affairs in the government in 1982, the Minister for Social protection in 1984 and Head of the Department of Education in 1986.

She returned to the political stage in 1997 as the first female member of the Algerian Parliament.