Aïcha Lemsine


Aïcha Lemsine, the pen name of Aïcha Laidi, is an Algerian writer writing in French.
She was born near Tébessa. She is an advocate for women's rights. She has been vice-president of the Women's World Organization for Rights, Literature, and Development and served on the PEN club's International Women's Committee. She was forced to leave Algeria because she was considered a dangerous person by Islamic militants.
Lemsine's first two novels are based on events around the time of the Algerian War of Independence. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and English.
In 1995, she was awarded a Hellman-Hammett Grant by Human Rights Watch to support her work.
Lemsine married the diplomat Ali Laidi.
The name Lemsine is constructed from the Arabic letters and , which are the first letters of her married and birth surnames.

Selected works