Hubertine Auclert: a Champion of Algerian Women’s Rights or an Imperialist Feminist?

The lives of Muslim women have long been a source of fascination and have aroused feelings ranging from curiosity, to erotic desire and sometimes repulsion. This fascination is nothing new, but goes back to centuries before to the first encounter between Islam and Europe in the Middle Ages. As Mohja Kahf documents in her book, Western Representations of the Muslim Woman (1999) ,western interest in the Muslim woman goes back as far as the Middle Ages. This representation has shifted from the bold queens of the medieval and renaissance literature to the 19th century colonial images of “victimized”, secluded and veiled women