General Mohamed Oufkir was the interior minister, minister of defence and the chief of the armed forces. He was very trusted by King Hassan II (and the most powerful figure in Morocco after the King) during the 1960s and early 1970s in Morocco. But after attempting to assassinate the king and all the Moroccan delegation returning from France on a Boeing 727 jet in a coup d'état in 1972, General Oufkir was arrested and then executed. General Oufkir's entire family was sent to a secret prison in the Sahara desert. suffering harsh conditions. Malika Oufkir and her family were initially confined to house arrest in the south of Morocco from 1973 to 1977; then they spent a total of 15 years in prison, before being released into house arrest in 1987 and finally released to France. On 16 July 1996, at the age of 43, Malika Oufkir emigrated to Paris accompanied by her brother Raouf and her sister Soukaina.

Malika Oufkir's life has inspired many to advocate for the right of political prisoners. She and her siblings are converts from Islam to Catholicism, and writes in her book, "Stolen Lives": "we had rejected Islam, which had brought us nothing good, and opted for Catholicism instead."

Oufkir married Eric Bordreuil on 10 October 1998. They were married at the town hall of the 13th arrondissement in Paris.

Malika published an account of her life in prison, entitled Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, with Tunisian author Michèle Fitoussi.The book was first written in French, titled "La Prisonniere" with the help of author Michele Fitoussi. This account was later translated into English.