Ikhlass Al-Hamrouni

Tunis — Feminist organizations in Tunisia are facing increasing pressure, most notably suspension decisions that threaten to silence independent voices. Activists believe that what is happening reflects a systematic policy that places female activists before an unknown fate and makes their struggle vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion.

Women in Tunisia are being forced into silence as a result of the growing restrictions on feminist civil society, as the activities of several associations have been suspended, leaving women facing serious challenges without protection. This reality raises urgent questions about the fate of women when civil society is restricted, and about the future of the efforts of female activists and competent women who have devoted their lives to defending women’s issues.

 

Serious Challenges Facing Women

In this context, civil society activist Monira Bouazizi confirmed that feminist civil society is subjected to “unusual repression,” and that the decision to freeze several feminist associations—which for many years played a positive role within Tunisian society—is worrying and leaves women who benefited from their services facing serious challenges.

She explained that the frozen associations, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, Women’s Voices, Hawaa, and others, were not merely symbolic structures:
“These associations were the voice of every oppressed or persecuted woman and their true supporter.”

 

Civil Society: A Partner in Balance and Reform

Monira Bouazizi stressed that there is a clear link between associations and civil society, pointing out that civil society in general, and feminist civil society in particular, constitutes a monitoring, proposing, and reformative force.
“Civil and feminist society does not destroy; it builds. It is a partner in creating balance and reform,”
she said, condemning the contradiction between the slogans of defending women’s rights and the freezing of associations that represent real support for women.

She questioned the background and goals of this process: Is it a prelude to a future policy of repression? She affirmed that feminist civil society has the right to exercise its role in criticism and accountability, and that repression will have negative consequences and will only worsen the situation.

She gave an example of the role of the associations:
“There are nearly one hundred families supported by these associations, which represent their voice and defend them—what is the fate of these people today?”
She also noted that the most prominent form of repression is freezing, and that some feminist activists such as Sonia Dahmani and Bouchra Belhaj Mabrouk are now facing trials and imprisonment:
“I personally face lawsuits before the judiciary, and I feel that the voice of women is not defended, but rather suppressed.”

Decline in Feminist Activism

In a related context, civil society activist in Sidi Bouzid, Fadia Khaskhoussi, said that feminist activism in Tunisia is suffering from an almost complete decline, except for a small number of women who began their struggle in 2011 and continue to defend a set of rights they seek to obtain. She clarified that this withdrawal is mainly due to the wave of restrictions on associations, the lack of funding, and the complexity of procedures.

She pointed out that recently nearly two thousand associations—most of them human rights organizations—have been closed under unclear legal transparency. This ambiguity has placed everyone in a state of maximum alert, as activists do not know whether they will be able to continue associative work under these circumstances. She added that those who remain today are only those who still adhere firmly to their principles and rights.

 

Inability to Support Women

Fadia Khaskhoussi explained that imprisonment, defamation, and accusations of treason have become a daily reality faced by human rights activists, and that the situation has worsened due to the presence of several activists in prison as a result of their civil activity.

She affirmed that the general conditions and the restrictions targeting associations—especially feminist ones—have made these associations unable to continue their work despite their strong desire to do so.

She added:
“Today, all these structures have either become accused or closed. So how can we continue working with vulnerable groups?”
She noted that these groups include abused women working in the agricultural sector, migrants, and domestic workers, and that associations tried to find appropriate solutions and put pressure to change laws such as the Law on Eliminating All Forms of Violence Against Women (Law 58), Law 227, and other legislation related to the social and solidarity economy.

The Efforts of Activists at Risk

Activists Monira Bouazizi and Fadia Khaskhoussi agreed that the escalating restrictions targeting feminist organizations and components of civil society have made it difficult to reach women, help them, and listen to them—because feminist activists themselves have become in need of support.

They confirmed that when feminist civil society is restricted, women’s voices are silenced, their rights are put at risk, and the efforts of female activists are blown away like dust in the wind. This makes it necessary to protect feminist civil work to ensure the continuity of support.