Society Rihab Boukhayatia 06 March 2020

With Coronavirus in Algeria and Italy, what measures has Tunisia taken?

Since it first surfaced in China in December 2019, the Coronavirus has quickly spread across the globe. Over 90 thousand cases have been reported, resulting in three thousand deaths. In Tunisia, the first case of contamination was identified on March 2nd, a Tunisian national who had arrived by boat from Genoa on February 27. In Italy, the first death caused by the virus was announced on February 22. Since then, 2,502 deaths have been reported. In Algeria, the first case of the virus was announced on February 25, with eight more cases reported since. What is Tunisia doing to prevent the spread of Coronavirus?

Education Rihab Boukhayatia 06 March 2020

Sexual education in Tunisia: Ministry treads a slippery slope

A number of associations and specialists in Tunisia have advocated for sexual education, soon to be introduced into academic curriculum beginning at primary school. The project, recently unveiled by the Ministry of Education, has sparked intense controversy although its content has yet to be revealed. Will sexual education be an entirely separate subject in schools? Who will teach it? Are teachers trained for the job?

Rights Hammadi Lassoued 20 December 2019

“Deportato”, a short documentary by Hammadi Lassoued

Under the bilateral repatriation agreement signed between Italy and Tunisia in April 2011, the hopes and aspirations of thousands of Tunisian youths have been shattered. This film tells the story and journey of five Tunisian migrants deported from Italy. From the “gouna” to Lampedusa and from Palermo to Ennfidha airport, they testify about the reasons that led them to leave, the conditions of their journey and their disappointments.

Society Hammadi Lassoued 30 October 2019

Tunisian derja VS classical Arabic, an ongoing rivalry

Tunisian derja and literary Arabic are often perceived as rivalling languages. But the conflict runs deeper than what appears at the surface, a product of cultural, political and historical issues. It is not enough to simply question the use of one language versus another. Instead, we can ask: why use one language at the expense of the other? What drives the decision to use one language and abandon the other? Nawaat set out to find some answers.

[This report falls within the scope of activities carried out by the network of Independent Media on the Arab World. This regional collaboration includes Al-Jumhuriya (Syria), Assafir Al Arabi (Lebanon), Mada Masr (Egypt), Maghreb Emergent (Algeria), Mashallah News (Lebanon), Nawaat (Tunisia), 7iber (Jordan) and Orient XX1 (France).]

Rights Manel Derbali 10 October 2019

Saloua Smaoui, from cyber-policing to the presidential campaign

Before aspiring to a potential future as first lady, Saloua Smaoui, the wife of presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, was an industrial engineer and, more notably, a leading officer at Microsoft. In this article, we take a glimpse at the lucrative deals made with the hangmen of cyber-dissidents.

Blogs Salma Houerbi 27 September 2019

Tunisian feminism in the wake of elections: disrupted or reborn?

“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or preferably unheard”, Arundhati Roy

Blogs Ikram Ben Said 13 September 2019

Presidential elections: How candidates are playing the « Tunisian woman » card

The 2019 presidential campaign began on Monday, September 2, 2019. Between those who have it, those who want to have it, and those who are preventedfrom having it, the fight over power has just started. Like every election, candidates are playing the « Tunisian woman » card and pitting us, Tunisian women, against each other, instrumentalizing the question of equality. Pretending to be the liberators or protectors of the “Tunisian woman” isa tradition which stems from a long history of State-feminism that was key throughout many phases of Tunisian history. Now, however, such discourse is void. We thought that Tunisian women killed the father in 2011 and should not seek to replace him with a new one, and that no candidate should pretend to father us. The time for nostalgia is over.
This article is co-authored by Samah Krichah and Ikram Ben Said.

Media Rima Sghaier 27 May 2019

Tunisia targeted with Facebook disinformation campaign by Israel-based company

Since the Russian interference with the 2016 US presidential elections, there have been numerous conversations, strategy building and commitments on a global scale involving policy makers, civil society and leading tech companies like Facebook to fight disinformation. In the era of “troll armies” and “fake news”, we are witnessing more and more the power of clandestine influence campaigns on social media to fuel divisions, disfigure the public spaces and influence voters. Tunisia is not exempted.

World Ammar Ahmad Al-Shuqairi 23 May 2019

Egyptian day laborers in Jordan : Anything to make a living

Sometimes settled in Jordan for decades, the 200,000 Egyptian workers struggle every day to find work that will give them enough to survive… until the next day.

World Yassin Swehat 16 May 2019

Syrian students in the maze of German universities

Seven hundred thousand Syrian refugees live in Germany, more than half of whom are under 25 years of age, according to the German Office for University Exchanges. What do they face when they seek to enter university, those whose studies have been interrupted by the revolution and war?

World Nada Arafat 10 May 2019

The Ababda Tribe in Egypt: On the desert that suffocates its residents

Arabian Desert, in eastern Egypt. The Abaddeh have suffered the upheavals of climate change, “modernity” and state policies. In recent decades, they have become foreigners in their own countries.

Society Malek Lakhal 07 May 2019

Tunisia: Illegal migration and brain-drain, two sides of the same coin

While the media tend never to establish any connection between “irregular immigration” and the “brain drain”, the motives behind these two types of emigration are far more similar than we are led to believe.

Rights Sana Sbouaï 05 May 2019

Irregular migration: In Tunisian territorial waters, the army kills

In 2011 and 2017, two shipwrecks off the Tunisian coast involved units of the Tunisian navy. On both occasions, vessels carrying migrants to Italy were sunk. The first following a collision, the second having capsized at the end of a chase.

Rights Hammadi Lassoued 23 April 2019

From Eritrea to Tunisia through Libya: Refugees escaping death

On March 21, 2019, the Medenine refugee shelter closed its doors. Tunisia Red Crescent’s regional committee called for the closure two weeks after the protest movement carried out by a group of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers on March 7. Protesters had left the center and set out on foot towards the Libyan border, calling attention to catastrophic conditions at the center, a facility which houses 210 occupants in spite of a 100-person capacity. It was here where, on March 11, a 15 year-old asylum seeker attempted suicide by cutting his wrists. Nawaat met with some of its residents to uncover the truth about this shelter.

University Samih Beji Okkez 19 April 2019

Professors raise red flag against marginalization of Tunisia’s public universities

Since March 25, 2019, more than 140 university professors have held an open sit-in before the Ministry of Higher Education. The demonstration is the latest development in the course of a two-year mounting crisis involving the Tunisian University Professors and Researchers Union (IJABA) and concerned Ministry. With a warning to the government about the possibility of losing out on an entire academic year, the protest movement is drawing attention to the precarious future of Tunisia’s public universities. As they demand sector reforms, professors are shedding light on the deterioration of the institutions that serve as the country’s incubators of thought and knowledge.

Rights Teycir Ben Naser 16 April 2019

Interview with A. Guellali about children of Tunisian ISIS fighters in conflict areas

Human Rights Watch has recently criticized the inaction of Tunisian authorities in the attempt to bring home the children of Tunisian ISIS fighters. The NGO says that 200 Tunisian children are currently being held in prisons and camps in Libya, Syria and Iraq. In an interview with Amna Guellali, Human Rights Watch director for Tunisia, we touch on an HRW study concerning the situation of these children today.

Society Teycir Ben Naser 01 April 2019

Vocational training in Tunisia : the limits of a governmental illusion

From March 4-8, the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment launched Vocational Training, Private Initiatives and Employment week. Nawaat visited a training center in the suburbs of Tunis where official discourse doesn’t quite reflect reality.

Culture Malek Lakhal 26 March 2019

Despite France’s efforts, is French language in Tunisia on its way out?

Held on March 9 at Tunis’ City of Culture, the Forum de la Francophonie marked the beginning of the month of Francophonie which is celebrated by French cultural institutions in Tunisia. The country will host the Summit of Francophonie in August 2020, even as the use of French language is on the decline and questions around language are charged with identity issues.