96

Many contemporary (Franco-)Algerian francophone women writers are breaking the silence on the persistent taboo of female virginity in the traditional patriarchal society. At a time when the demand for hymen repairing appears to be growing, and considering the lack of sociological studies on sexual practices in Algeria, these writers help bringing into light the violent forms of community control over women’s sexuality in an androcentric system. Frontally evoking this taboo ­ and its moving boundaries ­ in (auto)fictional writings, they recognize the existence of a female premarital sexuality and make it literarily “visible”. In a country where Islam, religion of State, is at the same time dogma and institution, culture and history, they take part more largely in deconstructing and challenging the gender relations based on social relations of power. Based on the writings and testimonies of some of these authors as well as on unpublished interviews, this article aims at shedding light on the strategies to subvert the traditional gendered assignments that these writers and their characters implement, speaking about the new clothes of female virginity taboo in Algeria.