Once Tunisia was seen as a beacon of hope for a successful political transition from dictatorship to democracy, with the start of the Arab revolution in 2011. For here the dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali left the country within four weeks after major protests broke out.
Following three years of the Tunisian revolution, a new constitution was drawn up in 2014. The negotiations between secular and Islamist parties were largely driven by Tunisian civil society. The result: A huge step towards gender equality, guaranteed religious freedom and a civil state - without any mention of Sharia law. This new constitution showed a path for a more democratic and participative policy, by strengthening individual freedom and the freedom of expression.
But with the Presidency of Kais Said 2019 a 180° turn took place:
He just replaced the former constitution, written by civil society as well as religious and secular powers, by his own.
If one pays attention to the latest news from Tunisia, it becomes clear that the situation is now quite far from the democratic ideals it seemed to strive towards: we read about the arrests of political opponents, a ban on the opposition assembling in their own premises, galloping inflation and racist speeches by President Kais Saied.
Against this backdrop, we, Khaled, Elena, Hichem and Antonia, deal with the question of how the lived realities of democracy activists in Tunisia can be made more visible, with the aim of supporting and strengthening their engagement for freedom, democracy, and human rights. To this end, the Tunisia Democracy Connectors project will be as the following :
During the first three-month project phase in Cologne at the NGO Democracy International, you are more than welcome to join our events;
- a panel discussion with democracy activists from different countries in the MENA region
- a film evening which is focusing the situation of LGBTIQ+ individuals in Tunisia.
Come and join us for these dates!
In addition, we are mapping democracy activists in MENA region at the International Democracy Community website, which enables all of us to build a global network of activism
From mid-July onwards, we will spend three months in Tunis, where we are planning further events and networking with the NGO Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms (IARF).
During this time, a digital security training with democracy activists and an online event about direct democracy tools is on our bucket list.
In addition, a series of interviews with activists from several countries in the MENA region will be conducted during the project, which will last 6 months.
The following Sustainable Development Goals will form the superstructure of the topics:
4 Quality education, 5 Gender equality, 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions, 17 Partnerships to achieve the goals.
