Janine-Nadjia Belkhodja: a life in the service of medicine and Algeria

Published on 3 October 2026 · Society

Janine-Nadjia Belkhodja (1928-2013) Physician, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics, and activist for the national cause. Born on 2 April 1928 in Algiers, Janine-Nadjia Belkhodja, also known as Janine Belkhodja-Kessous, was an Algerian physician whose career profoundly marked the history of medicine and social commitment in Algeria. Among the first women to study medicine at the Faculty of Algiers, she obtained her doctorate in 1955. From her student years, she became involved in political and activist life, convinced that medicine should serve the most vulnerable populations. During the War of National Liberation, she joined the struggle for Algeria's independence. Arrested on 14 March 1957, she was imprisoned after being accused of providing material support to Algerian fighters. After her release, she continued her medical work in France, then in Tunisia, where she notably treated war wounded. At independence, in 1962, she returned to Algeria and joined the Mustapha hospital in Algiers. She then devoted her career to medicine, university teaching and the training of generations of health professionals. Specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics, she also contributed to the development of family planning in Algeria, particularly from the 1970s. Her commitment went beyond the hospital. She took part in the activities of the National Union of Algerian Women (UNFA), the Algerian Family Planning Association (AAPF) and the National Economic and Social Council (CNES). In 2001, after the violence committed against women in Hassi Messaoud, she also lent her support to victims.