[2] Fatima-Zehra Imalayen or Djebbar was born on 30 June 1936 in Cherchell, Algeria, to Tahar Imalhayène and Bahia Sahraoui, a family of Chenouas Berber origin.

[3] She was raised in Cherchell, a small seaport village near Algiers in the Province of Aïn Defla.

She studied at Collège de Blida, a high school in Algiers, where she was the only Muslim in her class.

[4] She attended the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles in 1955, becoming the first Algerian and Muslim woman to be educated at France's most elite schools.

[6] In 1957, she chose the pen name Assia Djebar for the publication of her first novel, La Soif ("The Thirst").

[9] In 1997, Djebar became the director for the Center of French and Francophone Studies at Louisiana State University.

[8] Djebar was known as a voice of reform for Islam across the Arab world, especially in the field of advocating for increased rights for women.