Halimi, Gisèle (1927—)
Halimi, Gisèle (1927—)
French lawyer and feminist. Name variations: Gisele Halimi. Born Gisèle Zeiza Elisa Taieb in La Goulette, Tunisia, in 1927; attended a lycée in Tunis: obtained a degree in law and philosophy from the University of Paris, 1948; married Paul Halimi; married Charles Faux; children: three sons.
A practicing lawyer since 1956, Gisèle Halimi gained recognition as the lawyer for the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) and as counsel for Algerian nationalist Djamila Boupacha , in 1960. She also served as representative on many cases involving women's issues, and attracted national publicity for her part in the Bobigny abortion trial in 1972. In 1971, Halimi had founded Choisir, a feminist group organized to protect the women who had signed the Manifeste des 343, admitting to receiving illegal abortions. Transforming itself into a reformist body in 1972, Choisir campaigned for passage of the contraception and abortion laws that were eventually framed by Simone Veil in 1974.
Halimi authored La cause des femmes (1973) and initiated and contributed to the collective work Le Programme commun des femmes (1978), which addressed women's medical, educational, and professional problems and also suggested solutions that woman voters should demand. In 1981, Halimi was elected as an Independent Socialist to the National Assembly.