Raja Meziane (; born 1988), is an Algerian singer, songwriter, lawyer, and activist.

Life

Meziane was born in 1988 in

Maghnia Maghnia () (formerly Marnia) is a town in Tlemcen Province, northwestern Algeria. It is the second most populated town in Tlemcen Province, after Tlemcen. The current population is over 200,000. History Archaeologists have found evidence of prehi ...

, a town in

Tlemcen Province Tlemcen () is a province ('' wilaya'') in northwestern Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast ...

in north-west

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, where she grew up in the city of Chouhada. Her father, Ahmed ("H'mida") Meziane, a college professor of natural sciences, died young from a cardiac disease when she was eight years old. Initiated to music and theatre among

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, she recorded her first album of children's songs at the age of 16. In 2007, while a law student at the université de Tlemcen, she entered the

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

Alhane wa chabab in which she was a finalist. After releasing two albums, with some songs criticising the regime, in 2013 she attempted to make a feature film for which she wrote the screenplay and the music of the soundtrack. Unable to finance this project, she decided to devote herself to her job as a lawyer. However, the ''

bâtonnier In some legal systems, the bâtonnier is the head of the legal profession (the bar). Jersey In Jersey, the Bâtonnier is head of the profession of advocate. The role includes administering the legal aid system for the island (the day-to-day adm ...

'' of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

refused, with no explanation, to issue her practice certificate. Having succeeded in neither art nor law, in 2015 she moved to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, where she found an environment conducive to the development of her artistic career. During October 2019 Meziane was listed as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women of the year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meziane, Raja Living people 1988 births People from Maghnia 21st-century Algerian women singers