This paper examines the itinerary of a few members of Algeria women’s national handball team under the Boumediène regime. Under Boumediène, the state’s position towards women was substantially conservative. Yet, if social conservatism prevailed, it was also during that period that the state introduced and encouraged – and made compulsory – physical education for boys and girls in the state school system, as well as promoting female participation in sports at the competitive level. Despite the state’s promotion of female participation in sports, women’s sports – which were under full control of the regime - developed slowly. Amongst the different sporting practices, women’s handball quickly emerged in Algeria. Through a study of a few women athletes, this paper looks at the entry of women into sports in Algeria and at its impact on women’s lives. What obstacles did female athletes face? To what extent have sports empowered women? To what extent have sports – and the development in Algeria of women’s handball in particular - reinforced the gender divide and the reproduction of gender stereotypes? These are some questions that this paper will attempt to answer. This paper argues that while sports offered significant opportunities for Algerian women, state institutions also exploited female sports to reinforce the notion of sexual difference and of gender stereotypes. In addition, this paper argues that – by using female sports to inform about gender and sexuality - female sports were exploited to define Algeria’s identity and construct the Algerian nation under Boumediène.