Tunisia

Tunisia: 'Stop the violation of individual liberties'

Following the violence and violations of civil liberties that took place in a number of schools, institutes and universities, when some students and professors were physically attacked or otherwise threatened due to their clothing not being to the "taste" of the perpetrators, the Association of Tunisian Women for Research on Development (AFTURD) expresses its complete disapproval of and condemns these acts which are contrary to the principles of the Republic and of the public and individual freedoms it guarantees.

Tunisie: 'Halte à la violation des libertés individuelles'

Suite aux actes de violence et de violation des libertés individuelles qui ont eu lieu dans certaines écoles, instituts et facultés et au cours desquels certaines étudiantes et professeures ont été menacées dans leur intégrité physique et morale car leur tenue vestimentaire n’aurait pas été « au goût » des auteurs de ces violences, l’Association des femmes Tunisiennes pour la Recherche sur le Développement (AFTURD) exprime sa totale désapprobation et condamne ces actes contraires aux principes de la République et des libertés publiques et individuelles qu’elle garantit.

Tunisie: 'Les femmes craignent l’ascension des islamistes'

TUNIS, 15 nov (IPS) - Les femmes tunisiennes sont sorties massivement exprimer leur droit de vote, leur dernière arme, lorsque le pays organisait ses premières élections démocratiques depuis qu’un soulèvement populaire a détrôné l'ancien président Zine Abidine Ben Ali, mettant fin à son règne de 27 ans sur le pays.

Tunisia: 'Women Fearful of Islamists' Rise'

TUNIS, Nov 14, 2011 (IPS) - Tunisian women poured into the streets armed with the vote, their latest weapon, when the country voted in its first democratic election since a popular uprising unseated former president Zine Abidine Ben Ali, ending his 27-year- long stronghold on the country.

Tunisie: 'L’émancipation, une ligne rouge à ne pas franchir'

L’étranger de passage à Tunis (particulièrement celui qui n’a pas visité ce pays depuis quelques années, comme c’est notre cas) est frappé par l’effervescence des débats, des échanges verbaux, dans les cafés, sur les places publiques, dans les bus, près des échoppes…

Tunis. De notre envoyée spéciale

Tunisia: 'Women Seek to Set their Stamp'

Nine months after a popular election toppled the dictatorship of former Tunisian president Zine Abidine Ben Ali, voters headed to the polls Sunday to cast their ballots for fresh leaders to rewrite the laws of the country’s political system.

The election campaign in the birthplace of the Arab Spring has been, among other things, a battleground for women’s rights as voters set out to choose from about 11,000 candidates, half of them women.

Tunisia: 'In the name of democracy - What secularists and women have to lose in the Tunisian elections'

On the eve of the elections in Tunisia that will shape the future of the country and even that of the Arab world as well, Western do-gooders and Islamic fundamentalists hand in hand rejoice in ‘Tunisia’s first free elections’ and its access to ‘ democracy’. The recent history of Iran and Algeria have taught us better… And women in Tunisia watch in horror the rise of Muslim fundamentalists, as a possible replication of the Algerian scenario of 1989 .

Tunisia: 'Tunisia's Election through the Eyes of Women'

The role of women in the new Tunisia has been a controversial issue throughout the transitional period, with some fearful that they would lose precious rights from the previous era, and others arguing for a return to traditional values.

Early on in the democratic transition, an ambitious gender parity law was introduced to ensure women would have a voice in the constituent assembly.

Tunisia: 'Tunisia's women fear veil over Islamist intentions in first vote of Arab spring'

In a tiny hall in Nasarallah, a poor agricultural village in the hills beyond Tunisia's historic Islamic city of Kairouan, Jamila Brahid is irate. Sitting in a huddle of country women wearing traditional rural headscarves, the 50-year-old villager is proud to have had a primary school education in a place where many of her female friends – mostly seasonal fruit-pickers – cannot read or write. A carpet-weaver who owed debts on wool and has never married because of her obligations looking after elderly relatives, she gives thanks for Tunisia's prized status as the most feminist country in the Arab world. But, she says, Sunday's elections will be the true test.

Tunisia: Tunisian Women's Voting Campaign

In a bid to encourage more women to vote in the fourthcoming Constituent Assembly elections, Tunisia has launched a nationwide campaign.

The media campaign to run from Oct. 1 to 20 is an initiative of the ministry of women's affairs and is airing on radio and television spots, plus on posters.

The campaign was officially launched by the minister of women's affairs, Lilia Laabidi, who encouraged women to take part in political life and assert their presence in the Constituent Assembly to be held October 23.