Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights in Algeria – World Countries for Kids

While most citizens are quite free to travel abroad and domestically, the authorities thoroughly monitor and limit access to visas for non-Algerians. Police allegedly limit the movement of sub-Saharan African migrants trying to reach the Mediterranean coast. Married women under 18 must obtain the consent of their husbands to travel abroad, and men of military draft age are not allowed to leave the country without official consent.

The land border shared with Morocco remains closed. In August 2023 the Algerian coast guard shot dead two French-Moroccans who had unintentionally crossed the maritime border between Algeria and Morocco while riding Jet Skis. Likewise, in December, the Algerian coast guard arrested three Moroccan nationals for crossing the maritime border.

In February 2023, pro-Hirak activist Amira Bouraoui stealthily fled the nation even though a travel ban had been imposed on her by the authorities. Sometimes, the government has even banned Algerian diaspora activists who visit the nation from leaving.

The government plays an overriding role in the economy, leaving little scope for private competitors. Cronyism is also a major hindrance to private enterprise, with businesspeople not aligned with the regime often facing harassment by the authorities. Numerous regulations and their faulty implementation make Algeria one of the most trying environments in the world in which to establish and operate a business. Inheritance rules favor men over women.

Women lack equal rights in marriage and divorce under the family code as the family code is based on Islamic law. Among other provisions, women must take a male guardian’s permission to marry, and the father is the legal guardian of his kids. Spousal rape is addressed by no law.

Domestic violence is quite common, and the laws countering it are weak. Women’s rights groups report that 100 to 200 women lose their life in domestic abuse incidents each year. Femicides Algeria reported that 33 women were killed between January and November 2023, and condemned the judiciary’s failure to protect women.

Government’s involvement in the economy, weak rule of law, and bureaucratic obstacles pose major obstacles to economic opportunity and social mobility. Laws countering unsafe or abusive working conditions are poorly applied.

A 2009 law criminalized every form of trafficking in persons, and the nation reported its first conviction under the law in 2015. In recent years, the government has made serious effort to enforce the ban through prosecutions and has tried to provide protection for victims, though not systematically. Undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants are susceptible to trafficking in particular.