Ahlam Mosteghanemi (Arabic: أحلام مستغانمي; born 13 April 1953, Tunisia) is an Algerian poet and writer.

In 1965, the Boumediene coup d'état removed Ben Bella from power, and her father suffered a mental breakdown and was sent to a hospital in Algiers.

Mosteghanemi belonged to the first generation in Algeria that was able to study and write in Arabic, after more than a century of prohibition by the French.

Following involvement in women's rights activism, she was then denied enrolment in a Master's programme at the same university, with the board of directors stating that her freedom of expression would have a negative effect on the other students.

"[9] President Ben Bella said from exile, "Ahlam is an Algerian sun that illuminates the Arab world".

[12] Mosteghanemi continued her literary career with two sequels: Fawda el Hawas (The Chaos of Senses) in 1997 and Aber Sareer” (Bed Hopper) in 2003.

The story described the struggle of a young Algerian teacher whose father, a singer, had been killed by terrorists opposed to any form of art and joy in society.

In 2001, Mosteghanemi established the Malek Haddad Literary Prize to encourage more Algerians to write in Arabic.