Mouvements sociaux 4
Politics Samih Beji Okkez12 January 2018

Map of protests: increased prices galvanize streets across Tunisia

Protests against the 2018 finance law, which began within parliament and media outlets long before hitting the streets, provoked tension around the approved increase in prices. Tunisians, already fed up with the repercussions of a prolonged economic crisis, have turned out into the streets. A new wave of protest movements began in January, and quickly turned into confronta-tions between protesters and security forces in 18 governorates. Clashes culminated on Monday night with the death of the first protester in Tebourba, just outside of the capital.

Rights Henda Chennaoui06 July 2017

Meknassi: calm before the storm?

Thursday, June 15, 2017, protesters demanding employment during the Haremna (We’ve grown old) sit-in in Meknassi, governorate of Sidi Bouzid, blocked the road to trucks carrying phosphate from Gafsa. The trucks had been mobilized to replace two trains that have been held up for the past two months in Meknassi. Sit-inners aim to put pressure on the government which has yet to follow through on its agreements with the town’s unemployed. Following confrontations between police and protesters over acts of civil disobedience in January 2017, Meknassi today lives a precarious peace as citizens continue to protest.

Rights Henda Chennaoui04 July 2017

Menzel Bouzaiene: Women mobilize against social exclusion

« Keep quiet! » several men ordered a fellow sit-inner when she tried to speak up during a gathering. Such a scene is common in Menzel Bouzaiene, governorate Sidi Bouzid. For in spite of their capacity to mobilize, women are essentially excluded from public space and marginalized in social movements. Conscious of the double discrimination they face, 32 women decided to launch their own protest called « Manich Sekta », I will not keep quiet, to make their voices heard. In the summer’s blazing heat, they invited us to learn about their struggle for work, dignity, and social inclusion.

Society La rédaction19 January 2015

Redeyef: A Town of Hopes Betrayed

It’s hard to believe, when you’re in Redeyef, that this town is one of the richest in the whole of Tunisia. It’s also in Redeyef that we see the real meaning of social injustice. Despite the four hundred thousand tons of phosphate mined there every year, the twenty-seven thousand inhabitants of Redeyef have, for decades now, had access to just one school, one poorly equipped hospital, and a deserted youth centre.