TUNIS, Tunisia- On 8 December, Tunisian activists circulated an official statement on social media announcing the launch of a new grassroots group (“gilets rouges”) that intends to organise peaceful protests against the governmentʹs failure to improve economic conditions. Emulating the French “yellow vests”, the group takes its colour from the red of …
MEDENINE, Tunisia- A young woman is hanging out with her little daughter by the entrance to the office building of the Red Crescent centre in the southern town of Medenine. Looking toughened, exchanging a few fast words in English, she is ready to start telling how she ended up in Tunisia after fleeing …
TUNIS, Tunisia- Dozens of Tunisian rights activists held a protest outside the municipal theatre in central Tunis on the eve of a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday. Raising banners that displayed statements such as: “Bin Salman, war criminal” and “Stop killing children in Yemen”, a crowd of people …
TUNIS, Tunisia- Earlier in September, Fatima Kasraoui gathered with other Tunisians outside the Italian embassy in Tunis to demand the release of local fishermen detained by the Italian authorities over allegations of smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean. But that wasn’t the only protest she was holding on that day. Standing in a …
Tunis, Tunisia – On Monday afternoon, a suicide bomb blast struck Habib Bourguiba Avenue, one of the most iconic and heavily protected places in the heart of the Tunisian capital, Tunis. A female attacker reportedly used a hand-made explosive device to target a police van, wounding at least nine people. This was the first such …
Nidaa Tounes and Ennahdha are facing shifting political alliances and balances of power ahead of next year’s elections. One month after the end of the national consensus was announced, Tunisia’s two largest parties are reckoning with a weakened four-year government alliance and power realignments in a political scene which is shifting rapidly …
BEN GUERDANE, Tunisia — The main street on Ben Guerdane, a frontier town in southeast Tunisia that is about 30 kilometres from the Libyan border, is lined with goods stockpiled outside shops as trucks, vans and cars transport everyday products from Libya. On July 10, Tripoli closed the border with Tunisia, but …
Women are watching closely to make sure the transitional justice process will give dignity to those who suffered violence and abuse. As Tunisia’s Truth Commission nears the end of its mandate, women are stepping up to make sure their calls for justice are addressed. Established in 2013 and formally launched in 2014 …
SBEITLA, Tunisia — In the countryside outside Sbeitla, in the Kasserine governorate of western central Tunisia, lies a small hill at the foot of Mount Semmama framed by a sunset sky. Vehicles of the National Guard lined up and a smattering of soldiers could be seen on Darwish hill. The hill, named after …
Post-revolutionary Tunisia continues to push the debate about gay rights into the public sphere, braving a repressive law, gender-based discrimination and homophobic violence. Tunisian activists have taken increasingly bold steps in the last three years to open up real, public debate on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) issues. Recent …