Extremely low participation in the first round of legislative elections has brought the government face to face with a dilemma: how to set up a regime intended to be the expression of the people’s aspirations…without the people?
Women’s rights in Tunisia: CEDAW decimated
As the CEDAW Committee prepares to examine the situation for women’s rights in Tunisia, feminists fear the Convention’s demise. In 2011, Tunisia withdrew its reserves regarding the CEDAW. A political decision that was not followed by legislative reform.
Legislative elections 2022: The end of Saied’s state of exception?
Presented as a crucial political moment, the December 17 legislative elections were supposed to be the final act of Tunisia’s state of exception which began on July 25, 2021. If nothing else, this affirmation deserves to be put into perspective.
Television in Tunisia: These women, enemies of women
Their names are Baya Zardi, Hanène Elleuch, Najla Ettounssia, Rania Toumi… What they share in common: a certain representation of beauty and knack for creating a buzz. And indeed, they devote themselves body and soul to this end—even when it sets them against other women.
Legislative elections: Double penalty for Tunisians living abroad
« Tunisians residing abroad (TRE) have suffered a double penalty: first of all, the number of their representatives’ seats decreased from 18 to 10. Second of all, the requirement for obtaining 400 sponsors is absurd and unfair » says one candidate who did not make into the upcoming legislative elections. Indeed, the country’s new electoral law has clearly diminished TRE’s chances of benefiting from representation in parliament.
IMF-Tunisia agreement: a social time-bomb
Tunisia’s new agreement with the IMF is just two months away from becoming operational. The government, however, is far from being prepared to navigate what follows once it begins the precarious task of dismantling the subsidies system which covers basic goods and hydrocarbons. Rather than alleviating pressure on the country’s most vulnerable groups, it is likely to incite anger and indeed set off the social time bomb that it had hoped to disarm.
As youth flock to Europe, a village in Djerba fades away
As Serbia expulses dozens of Tunisians from Belgrade, thousands of others are making their way towards Europe along the Balkan route. « I can count on one hand the number of them who are still here », says a sixty-something-year-old resident of a small village in the center of Djerba. Report.
Outrage in Zarzis, as citizens search for those lost at sea
Fishermen were the first to respond after families raised the alarm. Without any concrete action taken by authorities, fishermen set off in search of those who had disappeared at sea. Meanwhile, on land, resentment boils over in the city of Zarzis. Report.
Feminist outcry against Tunisia’s electoral law
The new electoral law unilaterally decreed by president Kais Saied spurred outcry among women’s rights advocates in Tunisia. In protest of the new legislation, a feminist movement formed of nine associations staged a sit-in before the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE). As these activists voice demands for absolute parity between men and women in the public sphere, the president’s backwards approach to equality threatens to reverse women’s political gains.
Sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia: Marginalization of a replacement workforce
Some 57 thousand sub-Saharan migrants are currently living in Tunisia, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). To make ends meet, many of them take on precarious, underpaid jobs as builders, servers and agricultural workers. This demographic of foreign workers has replaced a Tunisian workforce that has shown itself reluctant to such economic activities. In the meantime, Tunisian legislation has failed to address what is becoming a dire socio-economic dilemma, as the absence of clear policy leaves free rein to all sorts of abuses against migrant workers.
Cleanup-Month: Environmental protection relegated to citizens
« It’s a sign of the Ministry’s shortcoming. The minister travels around with her staff and meets with governors, but doesn’t include the communes. The result? A handful of individuals cleaning up plastic » quips the president of the National Federation of Tunisian Communes (FNCT). « The initiative aims to instill a culture of environmentalism. A clean environment is a daily effort and lifelong commitment » retorts a ministry official.
Sierra Leone to Tunisia: The journey of young Lamin
24-year-old Lamin is from Sierra Leone. He has never tried to reach Europe and dreams of building his life in Tunisia, where he wants to start his own business. Although his situation is far from perfect in the absence of a legal work contract, Lamin reports that he takes everything in stride. Portrait.
Tunisia’s refugee crisis: Unsafe transit country, unreliable UNHCR
For weeks, refugees and asylum seekers demonstrated outside UNHCR headquarters in Tunis. Young men, women and children camped out in make-shift tents, giving voice to their anger and demanding dignity. And to be evacuated out of Tunisia. A crisis that reveals but the tip of the iceberg in the management of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who disembark onto Tunisia’s shores.
President Saied’s draft of the Constitution: Falsehood and misperception
After a fake coup d’état that was justified by its supposed constitutionality, a fake national consultation which failed to mobilize even a fourth of his voters in 2019, a fake national dialogue which merely featured a chorus of yes-men, Kais Saied has made haste to hatch out a fake constitution. The president submitted the draft just 25 days before a referendum in which voters are invited to approve or reject this fundamental text.
Access to health care: It’s sink or swim for migrants in Tunisia
Tunisia is home to an ever-growing migrant population. And yet many migrants remain in an irregular situation. In the absence of a complete legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers, access to health services for this heterogeneous community is not only inadequate, but in some cases even non-existent. For certain migrants, their inability to seek proper treatment is a disadvantage with potentially fatal consequences.
External debt: Tunisia falls back on « facility »
« Dire » is the word that IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice used to describe Tunisia’s economic and financial situation. During an online press conference on May 19, Rice urged the Tunisian government to pursue a reform program as a way out of its current impasse. But is a debt-fuelled solution the only way out? Several NGOs do not believe so, and propose alternative solutions to pull the country out of the crisis.
Women’s prisons in Tunisia: punishment without rehabilitation
3.2% of Tunisia’s incarcerated population are women. Asma is one of them. In an interview with Nawaat, Asma opens up about the appalling conditions inside women’s prisons. For many inmates, violence, whether socio-economic or psychological, is a fact of their past and present. A study by Beity and Lawyers Without Borders sheds light on their experience in prison and beyond.
Water scarcity in Tunisia: the threat of food insecurity
Farmers have been ruined, lands abandoned. Agricultural zones that were still flourishing just five years ago have since dried up. Water scarcity caused by climate change and rising temperatures has a direct impact to bear on Tunisia’s food security—far more than the conflict in Ukraine. Report.
