Rights Fadil Aliriza 21 October 2020

Covid-19: Picking up Europe’s Phone Calls in Tunis During a Pandemic

When Tunisia went into lockdown from March to June, most private sector businesses experienced at least some stoppage of work. As might be expected, the sector that saw the least closures was the health sector, where 45 percent of businesses remained open, according to an official study. But in the number two position was the information and communication sector—which includes call centers—where 42 percent stayed open without interruptions. According to a new report looking at the rights of call center workers, call centers were “granted authorization to maintain physical operations as an ‘essential service’” even though many maintained “tightly packed spaces with shared workstations and equipment…fertile ground for the virus to spread.”

Blogs Salih Yasun 20 October 2020

Reforming the Municipal Police Force in Tunisia

In the early hours before dawn on Tuesday, October 12th, the municipal police of Sbeitla (governorate of Kasserine) bulldozed an illegally built kiosk where a cigarette vendor was sleeping. Kasserine remains one of the most underprivileged regions in Tunisia. During the demolition, the roof collapsed on the victim’s body, leading to his tragic death and sparking protests in the region.

Blogs Ikram Ben Said 16 October 2020

On Allyship and the Danger of Faux Male Feminists

I do not engage men in conversations on gender equality, especially cis, straight men. The last time I did, I was called a ‘feminazi’ for shaming a man who unabashedly invalidated a woman’s feelings toward her own menstruation. I did not understand how a man could draw such far-fetched conclusions without even having a vagina, let alone bleeding from it. Moreover, what would entitle him to invalidate her experiences and opinions?

Rights Ghaya Ben Mbarek 10 October 2020

“They choked me, kicked me”: Cops Assault Protests Against Police Immunity Law

On Tuesday, October 6, demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament to protest a draft law under discussion seeking to grant security forces legal immunity from prosecution for use of force—the first of several protests against the law this week. Police forces then assaulted protesters and detained four of them at a police station in the Bardo neighborhood. Meshkal/Nawaat spoke with the four people who were detained and later released about the police abuse they experienced.

Economy Jack Jeffery 29 September 2020

Digitizing the Corner Shop’s Supply Chain in Tunisia

Many Tunisians buy their goods from small shops. But before those goods reach local shops, they pass through a series of middlemen who shape the final price. In the groceries sector, this includes wholesalers and “dawarjis”—independent transporters with vans who buy goods from wholesalers and sell them to small retailers. A new startup is trying to sell an alternative supply chain system using online tools, but many prefer the way business is done currently.

Rights Rihab Boukhayatia 24 September 2020

Abir Moussi: A Progressive, You Say?

With opposition to political Islam as her hobbyhorse, the former RCD member and current president of the Free Destourian Party (PDL) Abir Moussi has become the figurehead of opposition to Ennahdha. This positioning on the political chessboard has resulted in a meteoric rise. But is she really opposed to the Islamists’ social vision? Is she really progressive?

Rights Sana Ben Achour 22 September 2020

Tunisia : Bringing an end to Personal Status

A hostage to its « sacro-patriarchal » paradigm, Tunisia’s Code of Personal Status has become a glass ceiling—blocking women’s access to full and complete citizenship and preventing them from enjoying all of their human rights—in a society where the demand for equality between men and women presents a permanent threat to a public order that is gendered.

Society Rihab Boukhayatia 13 July 2020

Irregular migration: a family undertaking

Migratory waves often coincide with the failure of social movements to achieve their objectives. A recent report notes a spike in clandestine migration that correlates with failed protest movements in the Gafsa mining basin and in Tataouine. « Irregular migration has become a form of collective protest », observes sociologue Khaled Tababi. A form of protest in which women are increasingly taking part.

Rights Rihab Boukhayatia 08 July 2020

Inside Beity: Single mothers, scarred and dreaming of autonomy

Some 715 out-of-wedlock births were reported in 2019, according to the annual report on the activities of childhood protection officers. The majority of these births (44.33%, or 317 births) took place in the central-eastern part of Tunisia. What is the fate of single mothers in a society that ostracizes them? Nawaat went to meet three of these young mothers at Beity, a shelter that offers assistance to women in distress and victims of violence.

Blogs Fida Hammami 25 June 2020

Publication of IVD report : a second wind for Transitional Justice in Tunisia

Since 2014, the Transitional Justice process led by Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission (Instance Vérité et Dignité, IVD) has been anything but steady. After a mandate of nearly five tumultuous years, the IVD completed its task in 2019 with the referral to court of at least 173 cases of serious human rights violations and corruption. It also published a comprehensive report including its findings and recommendations. Today, the report was finally published in the Official Gazette as required by Transitional Justice Law.

Politics Thameur Mekki 16 June 2020

«Operation Carthage»: Nabil Karoui and lobbyist Lotfi Bel Hadj busted by Facebook

« Disinformation as a service » is how the Atlantic Council described the services provided by Tunisian digital communication agency UReputation to presidential candidate Nabil Karoui during his campaign for Tunisia’s 2019 presidential elections. On June 5, the American think-tank published an investigation carried out by its Digital Forensic Research lab (DFRLab) which exposed the collaboration. Dubbed « Operation Carthage », UReputation’s activities targeted 10 African countries to the profit of four politicians running for president in their countries’ elections. Yet another affair revealing Karoui’s dubious practices, who owns UReputation, the Tunisian PR firm with such global influence?

Blogs Oussema Othmeni 09 June 2020

Tunisian Politics and the Theory of Group Polarization: The Beginning of a Two-Party System?

Almost ten years after the Revolution took place, however, the new political scene that has since emerged in Tunisia is creating social friction and a division amongst Tunisians. This article attempts to provide an analysis of this prevalent social friction based on the theory of group polarization, while shedding a special light on the current political events that are shaping Tunisian domestic affairs.

Society Rihab Boukhayatia 26 May 2020

Souk Sidi Boumendil: Survival by deconfinement

A sea of cars fills the street from Bab Alioua to Bab Jazira. Dozens of people carrying plastic bags are on the lookout for available taxis which are few and far between. The closer one gets to Boumendil, the thicker the crowd becomes. In this souk, a hub for contraband, life is returning to normal as Aid draws near. But the threat of Coronavirus hovers all along this street that is teeming with foot traffic.