Kabylia, a historical and cultural region located in the northeast of Algeria, has long been a space of strong identity expression within the Algerian nation. Through its attachment to the Amazigh language, education, cultural transmission, and civic engagement, this region continues to play a vital role in shaping Algeria’s social and political landscape. However, this role remains marked by persistent tension with central state institutions, caught between aspirations for national integration and demands for recognition.
While the constitutional recognition of Tamazight as a national and official language is a significant symbolic milestone, it has not yet translated into fully effective public policies. Tamazight education remains inconsistent, its administrative use is marginal, and its presence in national media is limited. These shortcomings fuel a sense of exclusion, especially when cultural or political initiatives that assert Kabyle identity are met with suspicion or even repression.
The demands expressed by segments of Kabyle civil society are not separatist in nature, but rather a call for recognition within a unified national framework. What is being proposed is a model of local autonomy, not to fragment the state, but to contribute to its modernization. A more decentralized form of governance, responsive to local realities, could enhance democratic participation while strengthening national cohesion.
This debate becomes particularly sensitive when it concerns individual freedoms. Wafia Tidjani, a business owner, and Mira Moknache, a university lecturer and former athlete, have been detained for several months for their peaceful advocacy of cultural diversity and fundamental rights.
These detentions raise serious concerns about the state of public freedoms in Algeria. They also prompt a broader question: what place does the state intend to give to the peaceful expression of diversity? In a democratic society, non-violent dissent, even when it challenges dominant narratives, should be protected, not criminalized.
Global experience shows that the most stable and effective state models are those that recognize and embrace internal diversity. In this light, Kabylia is not a threat to national unity, but an opportunity to rethink it on fairer, more inclusive, and more representative grounds. Empowering regions to preserve their languages, cultures, and local governance structures does not weaken the state; it strengthens its legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens.
It is time to understand that the Kabyle question is not a problem to be managed, but an invitation to build a more modern Algeria, one grounded in participation, mutual recognition, and territorial balance. In this context, the immediate release of prisoners of conscience, including the aforementioned activists, is not only a moral imperative but also a necessary step toward national reconciliation and institutional credibility.
Algeria’s future will not be built in opposition to Kabylia, but in partnership with it through a relationship rooted in respect, dialogue, and genuine recognition of the country’s cultural and political plurality.