Through the context of the rise of fears of Islamism after several high-profile terrorist attacks in France, this chapter considers the impact of discourses of violence against women in the North African community. After a brief history of the ‘veil affairs’ in France (1989-2003), the chapter focuses on two authors who received significant attention in the audio-visual media: Soraya Nini for her 1993 novel Ils disent que je suis une beurette and Samira Bellil for her 2002 memoir Dans l’enfer des tournantes. These texts, although different in literary genre and scope and published nearly a decade apart, were discussed in parallel terms: as voices of emancipated young women who support French institutions and call for more involvement and protection from state authorities against supposedly violent and barbaric young men. Through these conversations a new iteration of ‘beur literature’ was born, that of the ‘beurette’ (young woman) struggling to declare her independence and freedom from oppressive familial customs.
