IHLAS HAMROUNI

Tunisia- Tunisian women make great efforts to get their economic independence by improving themselves so that they can participate in the labor force. Women living in Tunisia’s Sidi Bouzid city learn various crafts and develop their projects to get their economic independence despite gender stereotypes in their society.

 Maryam Mesbahi worked as an agricultural worker for 25 years. She is one of the women making great efforts to break gender stereotypes in their society by participating in the labor forces. Like many other women in the region, she complains about the crowded trucks, known as “death trucks”, used to transport agricultural workers. In order to meet the needs of her children and pay the rent of the house, she endured cold weather in winter and hot weather in summer. Eventually, she decided to start her own business to achieve her own autonomy.

‘Young women were subjected to harassment’

While working as an agricultural worker, Maryam Mesbahi witnessed that many women were subjected to harassment by middlemen or farmers, who chose the young women more than the older women for work. “For 25 years, we were transported to farms by using trucks. Our boss used to fill the truck with water to prevent women from sitting down. Thus, he could load more women.” All these bad working conditions forced her to leave working as an agricultural worker and attend training courses held by a women’s association. Then, she developed her own project on home air conditioning systems.

“Thanks to this project, I got rid of the death trucks and harassment. Now, I have my own business and many women benefit from my project. I provide them good working conditions and salary.”

 ‘Women should work to achieve gender equality’

Speaking about the bad working conditions suffered by women working in agriculture, she said, “Women working with me faced many difficulties such as unsafe transportation and low wages in the agriculture sector,” said Maryam Mesbahi, emphasizing that women should work to achieve gender equality in their society. “Women living in rural areas of Sidi Bouzid should believe in themselves and participate in the labor forces to get their economic independence.”

 'Women should participate in the labor force to achieve gender equality'

Sania Mohammadi is another woman developing her own project in Sidi Bouzid. Her project is called “Sabra”. “This project was my dream while I was a university student. When I was a student, I saw how students looked for cheap meals because they did not have money. We mostly preferred to eat the Tunisian Bsissa (a variety of mixtures of roasted cereals ground with fenugreek and aniseed and cumin and sugar). It is a good source of protein and fibers that provide energy.”

In 2016, Sania Mohammadi developed her project to realize her dream and she started her own business in 2017. Although she faced many challenges such as the lack of financial support and family problems, she is now happy because she provides employment opportunities to many women in Sidi Bouzid.

“Women in Sidi Bouzid have the capacity to take responsibility, work and be successful. Every woman should learn crafts, develop their projects and participate in the labor force to achieve gender equality.”