Her thesis explored the misunderstanding and malaise between both sexes in the Algerian society. Ahlem pursued her university studies at the Sorbonne, where in 1982 she obtained a doctorate in Sociology. They were married in 1976 in Paris and settled there.

A Lebanese journalist and historian with a deep knowledge of Algeria, Rassi was preparing a thesis about “Arabization and cultural conflicts in independent Algeria”. In Algiers, Mosteghanemi met Georges El Rassi. She was also expelled from the Union of Algerian Writers for not conforming to the political line of her time. After she received her B.A in Literature, the board of directors of the University of Algiers refused her enrolment for a Masters under the pretence that her freedom of expression had a negative impact on students. Although women had fought alongside men during the revolution, in the postwar period they were generally relegated to their traditional roles they were denied the freedom to express themselves and to aspire to success. This is where Ahlem’s battle begins against sexism. It was even less prepared to see her do it in the sacred Arabic language. It was not prepared to see a girl express herself freely on subjects such as love and women’s rights. But, at the time, the Algerian society was rebuilding its identity and recovering from a colonial past that resulted in the death of over a million and a half. The Arabic language, encouraged by her French-speaking father as if in revenge, provided her with a sense of liberation since her family had not mastered the newly reacquired Arabic language.

فوضى الحواس by Ahlam Mosteghanemi