Born in Algiers in 1935, Djamilah Bouhired was working as a seamstress when she was recruited by Yacef Saadi. During the ‘Battle of Algiers’ attacks, she planted the ‘Milk-Bar’ bomb on September 30, 1956. Eleven people were killed and five wounded in the explosion.

Six months later, in an ambush, Bouhired was accidentally wounded by Saadi. Arrested, then tortured for 17 days, she was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to death. Jacques Vergès, her lawyer, prevented her execution thanks to his relentless and combatative defence. The media campaign he orchestrated transformed Djamila into the emblematic figure of the anti-colonialist resistance throughout the world, and saved her life.

Upon her release, she married Vergès. They had two children. Keeping in line with the moral principles that guided her struggle during the war for independence, Djamila withdrew from political life after the war and played no part in the construction of independent Algeria