Sonia (Sakina Mekkiou)

Sakina Mekkiou, known universally as Sonia, graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Bordj El Kiffan in 1973. Working closely with theatrical giants Azzedine Medjoubi and Abdelkader Alloula, she established herself as the foremost tragic actress of modern Algerian stagecraft.

During the bloody 1990s, when artists and intellectuals were systematically assassinated, Sonia courageously refused exile, performing her heroic one-woman play 'Fatma' across the nation. She later served as director of the Regional Theaters of Annaba and Batna, training hundreds of young female playwrights and actors.