Tunisian Revolution
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10 years of Arabellion
The buds of the Arab Spring
Ten years after the start of the Arabellion in North Africa and the Middle East, many view the movement as a failure. But rather than being over, it has now entered a more mature phase with new forms of protest. An assessment by Claudia Mende
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Obituary: Tunisian author Albert Memmi
Adieu, Albert!
Albert Memmi, Tunisian author and pioneer of a sociology of de-colonisation, died on 22 May 2020 in Paris. He was nearly 100 years old. He was the last of a generation of Maghreb novelists writing in French. A personal obituary by Regina Keil-Sagawe
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Democratic transition in crisis?
Building Tunisia from the ground up
While Tunisians remain committed to democracy, they are feeling the painful lack of economic and political progress. Much has been achieved in the way of personal freedoms, but some major reforms are needed if everyone is to lead a dignified life. By Jake Walles
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Suicide on the rise in Tunisia
A last desperate stand
Tunisia is considered a paragon of the Arab Spring. Despite democratic reforms, however, a mood of political frustration and economic despair still prevails, particularly among young people. Since 2011 the country has seen an increase in the number of suicides – an act some see as a form of political protest. By Hannah El-Hitami
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Unrest in the Arab world
The genie is out of the bottle
The Arab world is one gigantic pressure cooker. For the most part the lid of repression is on, but it is boiling over with increasing frequency. Whether in Lebanon, Iraq or in Algeria, where people are rising up against political despotism and corruption. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Women's rights in the Middle East
Feminists in Tunisia claim civic space
In 2011, the Tunisian people overthrew their authoritarian regime after decades of oppression. The fact that women were at the forefront of this movement was soon noticed by the international community, challenging the widespread preconception of a region devoid of womenʹs activism. By Aya Chebbi
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Indigenous rights in the Maghreb
An uphill struggle for Tunisiaʹs Amazigh
The Amazigh claim that the regimes of Bourguiba and Ben Ali stole their finest asset, namely their culture. Is Tunisiaʹs Jasmine revolution on the way to restoring their rights? By Lina Shanak
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Elias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019
The re-birth of Tahrir Square
Ask what happened to the spirit of Tahrir Square and we find the reply in the Maghreb. Today Tahrir Square is in Algeria, in Sudan, and in many other places besides. Perhaps the secret of the Arab Spring lies not in its victories or its defeats, writes Elias Khoury, but in its ability to liberate people from fear
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Social unrest in Tunisia
Taking on the IMF
As the Tunis government’s international creditors tie loans to increasingly drastic austerity measures, social tensions continue to grow in the nation’s marginalised hinterland. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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Souad Abderrahim: Mayor of Tunis
The "Sheikha", the city and its problems
Souad Abderrahim is the first freely elected female mayor of an Arab capital. Her opponents regard her as being in the pocket of the moderate Islamists. She herself prefers to stay out of politics. By Nader Alsarras
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Interview with Egyptian activist Nawal El Saadawi
"We are a hundred years behind"
The Tunisian parliament is to consider a bill recently agreed by the cabinet that would grant equal inheritance rights to men and women – a proposal that has created a furore not only in Tunisia, but throughout the Middle East. Egyptian writer and activist Nawal El Saadawi describes the move as "positive" and believes that Egypt may finally be following in Tunisia's footsteps. Interview by Imane Mellouk
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The Arab Spring and the "Spring of Nations"
Failed revolutionaries?
What do Europeʹs "Spring of Nations" of 1848 and the Arab Spring have in common? Both revolutions it seems were doomed to failure, with those involved forced to endure a long and icy winter of restoration. And yet there is a glimmer of hope. An essay by the Egyptian historian Khaled Fahmy