Samia was born in Blida, Algeria, in a modest family. After studying journalism at the University of Algiers, she applied for a TV casting call and ended up presenting over two years a TV show called “Bled Music” that was very popular, especially among young people. It was described as "the craziest show in the history of independent Algeria.” The show stopped airing on February 14, 1994, the day a bombing severely injured the director of the show.
Forced to leave Algeria, Samia arrived in France soon after the tragic events that had swept her country. She quickly became involved in a series of TV shows (Arte, France 2, TV5) addressed to the North African community.
She directed a documentary film for Onisep, "L'école au cœur de la vie" (School at the heart of life), aimed at newcomers from the Arab-Maghrebi community. With friends from the radio and television worlds, she created the association “Bled Connexion” to give a stage to Algerian artists in exile and encourage multi-cultural initiatives.
In 2006, Samia took part in the initiative “Les Caravanières venus du Sud” (Caravaneers from the South), led by the association “Women Against Fundamentalism” which traveled across working-class neighborhoods in France.
With the association “20 ans Barakat,” she contributed to the elaboration of a music video calling for changes in the discriminatory Algerian Family Code, and organized concerts, film screenings and debates in order to inform and sensitize women on their rights in France and various Maghreb countries.
Throughout her years of activism, Samia has been building solid networks aimed at fighting for women's rights. She conducted a research project at Paris 3- Sorbonne Nouvelle addressing the difficulties of informing women about their rights. In 2007, she joined the international and secular solidarity network, “Women Living under Muslim Laws.” Since 2010, she has been in charge of media and communications with feminist networks in the Mediterranean region, at the Mediterranean Women's Fund https://www.medwomensfund.org/