Trained in medicine, Djaouida Sellah was a volunteer doctor during the First Gulf War in Baghdad. A founding member of the Association québécoise des médecins diplômés hors Canada-États-Unis, she was its president from 1998 to 2011. She also volunteered for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and a non-profit alternative justice association (IMAQ).

As MP for Saint-Bruno−Saint-Hubert from 2011 to 2015, she tabled Bill C-523, the Mandatory Disclosure of Drug Shortages Act, to reduce prescription drug costs and protect public health.

She chaired the NDP Women's Caucus, served as Deputy Health Critic for the Official Opposition, was a member of the Status of Women Committee and co-chaired the Quebec Chapter of NDP Women's Commission from 2006 to 2011. Since 2016, Djaouida has been working as insurance consultant and advisor financial.