Where is Tunisia?

After living in the USA for about 8 months, I met very few people who knew what is Tunisia? (as not a type of food ) and where is Tunisia?
Though my country has been on the news for the last two years, still people think it's Indonesia or it might be somewhere in Europe or Asia!! No blame! some people think I'm from Latin America because they have never actually met a Tunisian so they don't know what a Tunisian look like!!well..

For those who have never heard of it that's your chance so that when random people will ask you in the street about it- like I did few days ago in Georgia- you will confidently answer!!!

Tunisia is a beautiful small country in North Africa ( smallest country in North Africa) bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia has around 11 million people, predominately Muslim society but has a large Jewish community in the south and other religious minorities. Our official language is Arabic (this is why we're classified as Arab country), our second language is French because we've been colonized by the French for 75 years and some Tunisians also speak Berber/Amazigh.  We had two dictators (personal opinion) and a revolution on January 14th 2011!

Now you know! some other people still don't know so it's your responsiblity to share and get them know!!

Check out my video asking people about Arabs and Tunisia

Don't forget to subscribe! 

Read More

My visit to Statesboro First United Methodist Church

One of the main reasons I applied for the Fulbright Scholarship was the chance to be an ambassador not only of my country but of my whole region. I hold the complex identity of being a Tunisian African Muslim Arab woman, and I wanted to use that to break a lot of stereotypes and represent Tunisia’s revolution, the African unity, the Arab culture and the true Islam.

I was hoping to be sent to one of my dream universities, Johns Hopkins or Georgetown University, because Washington D.C. is the state most alive with politics, but also full of false assumptions about the MENA region. When the program sent me instead to the very southern state of Georgia, and the very rural area of Statesboro, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my mission with people whose accent, lifestyle and orientations I don’t fully understand.

Reading about American history, I expected the south to be very conservative and very Republican, and I doubted I would find opportunities to open constructive debates However, at Georgia Southern University, where I am teaching Arabic and taking some graduate courses (and which I now proudly call “my university”) I found the Global Ambassadors Program. Through that program I get to represent my country, region and culture by speaking to groups both on and off campus.

I have become very delighted whenever I get a speaking invitation, and last semester I got to speak in some of the Global Citizen classes on campus, as well as at high schools around Statesboro. This semester, the experience has already been even more intense and interesting.

Last week, I was invited to speak at the Statesboro First United Methodist Church. I was very surprised that a Muslim would be asked to speak in a church in a very conservative area like Statesboro. Though last year I spoke at the National Cathedral School when I visited the states for the first time as MENA Democracy fellow, that was on the grounds of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where my expectations were more of an open community to other religions and cultures.

I expected that speaking at a church I would encounter some sensitive questions or statements about Islam, especially since my religion has often been portrayed as hostile and violent since 9/11. However, I didn’t think twice and immediately accepted the invitation because I saw it as a great opportunity to give the true image and highlight what unites us regardless of religion. The invitation was, in particular, from the United Methodist Women, and I was excited to meet active women working in a faith non-profit organization, share and learn from them.

I first wondered what to wear for such an occasion. I looked in my closet for a dress but most of them were tight or short, and I felt that wouldn’t be appropriate. I told some friends that I was going to a church and they advised me not to wear boots or sandals; only formal shoes.

It was 8am, slowly raining outside. I decided in the end to put on my Tunisian dress, my black shoes, a Tunisian shachia (hat), and also my new earrings with the Tunisian flag on them. I looked at the mirror and I felt 100% Tunisian.

At 9:30am, I arrived at the church on time. It was very beautiful old, huge building. For some reason, I expected the group of women inside to be young married ladies in their 30s, maybe because in my society young women are involved in faith organizations, but to my surprise the women ranged in age from about 40 to 80. I even met one woman celebrating her 100th birthday. We had refreshments before the event, and as I started interacting with them, they all welcomed me with caring smiles on their faces.

After keynotes from the president of the organization, prayers and reciting the purpose of the United Methodist Church, the floor was mine.


I talked about myself, my work, studies and where I come from, but the most interesting part for me was, as usual, the questions. This group of pretty women didn’t only ask the regular questions about my language, food, or the weather in Tunisia, but also about politics, youth, and activism. Some asked me about the security in Egypt, others about the role of social media in the revolution.

I was very impressed how informed and connected they were to what is happening outside Georgia and the U.S. Since I came to the US, I had to explain every time where is Tunisia on the map though it has been in the news for the last two years. I have found that American students are not very connected to the outside world.

They asked me why I came to Statesboro in particular and what I think about it. I found myself telling them that I didn’t actually choose to come to Statesboro and my feelings of “what am I doing here, in the middle of nowhere?!” when I first arrived.  Just as I started worrying I should have been more discreet, an unexpected spontaneous laughter arose from everyone in the room. I’ve been in many situations of culture clash where I said something that might be offensive to Americans and I learned to watch what I’m saying. However, with these ladies, I felt so comfortable to speak without thinking about misunderstanding.

We also talked about my family. Once I told them I am an only child, they wanted to know about my mom. I told them that my mom wants me to get married as soon as possible so she can live to see her grandchildren – when I tell her I’m not ready yet she always says, “You give me the children and go travel wherever you want.” While I was telling about my mom’s worries, I saw in their eyes sympathy with her, because they are mothers and grandmothers themselves. I even felt my mom’s love and wonder in their eyes, looking at me with a lot of caring.


Besides organizing these speakers’ events, I learned that these active women were regularly attending workshops and conferences, doing research and discussing issues such as immigration and conflicts, and organizing charity events, among other work they do.

By the end of the meeting, many of them came to me and held my hand with words of gratitude, support, and inspiration. I couldn’t say more than “thank you” because they didn’t know that I learned from them as much as they did from me.  They inspired me to keep being an active woman even when I’m celebrating my 100th birthday, leading a project in my organization rather than sitting in the corner of my house watching TV.

Actually, we all have stereotypes, certain expectations and prejudices of people around us or even those we have never met. These women have broken all expectations with their openness, knowledge, hard work and determination to serve their communities and help each other.

When it was time to leave the warm room full of laughter, love and sharing, I left with a smile on my face, peace in my heart, and a lot of knowledge and enlightenment.

This article was published at:

-The Voice of America: http://blogs.voanews.com/student-union/2013/03/07/ayas-story-a-muslim-woman-breaks-stereotypes-at-a-southern-church/

 -International Student Voice: http://www.isvmag.com/2013/03/be-an-ambassador-speak-out-about-your-culture/

-Step Outside the Media Box: http://letsstepout.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/ayas-story-a-muslim-woman-breaks-stereotypes-at-a-southern-church/

Read More

I found it interesting to be interviewed by Fashion Magazines!!

After being interviewed by news-websites, journals and magazines covering the Arab Revolt, it was really interesting to be contacted by Magazines which write primarily about fashion, celebrities, beauty, Lifestyle, fitness and health...

Very interesting, indeed, how the directors of the those magazines are concerned about Revolution's voices or maybe is it still part of the marketing? which means that revolutions have become branded!!
 
The diversity of the journalists is interesting too, because not only Americans, British and French write stories and news about Tunisia but I've been interviewed by Polish, Danish, Canadian journalists beside obviously the MENA media outlets but recently Australian and Belgian magazines are also highlighting stories of the revolutions.

Fiona MacDonald wrote this article on the Australian Magazine Madison about stories of women in the Arab Uprising what she called "After the Revolution". She interviewed women from Egypt, Libya, Syria and Tunisia including myself. Fiona said when she first contacted me and explained the message behind her article: " women have played a crucial role in the revolutions but many Australians don’t know much about what’s been happening (other than what they see on the news) and how empowered the Arab women are". I am proud of her final piece which had I guess a positive reaction worldwide and I hope also in Australia, http://intentious.com/2013/01/01/arabian-uprising-were-not-there-yet/

Céline Gautier interviewed me for the Belgian Magazine ELLE Belgique. It is a women magazine but mainly featuring pop culture, life & love, hair & beauty, accessories, shops etc... The interview was about women's rights in Tunisia and the ruling Islamic party Ennahda. Celine also captured my attention with the same comment as Fiona : " I'll make you some questions  in order for me to understand better what's happening now in Tunisia regarding women's rights. As the Europeans have a lot of misinformation, I'll ask you to give us some facts and not only feelings or thoughts"!

I am happy that around the world, there are journalists who try to give deeper insights into the Arab Uprising through people's voice, youth and stories from the street but at the same time I still wonder when the international media would stop manipulating people and misleading them through biased and even falsified facts!

To every journalist, Be honest to your job and ethics!!

Read More

The flatering dreams of Tunisian girls

Following the departure of the former president Ben Ali, Tunisia has entered an emergency situation. A few days after he left, we started hearing about rape, kidnapping and violence against girls and women. More than two years after Tunisia’s revolt, the violence has only intensified and the violations have reached young girls more than adults.

The picture is as simple as the dream of any Tunisian child to pursue an education. Yet, it also holds sadness, fatigue and fear. The girl is not only striving for a dream but also combatting poverty; a situation that even the revolution did not change for her. She has the same old board to write on with chalk, living in the same tiny house with her family and receiving the same way of teaching. She might not know yet her rights for a decent life, education and job but she only knows that she has to go to school to fulfill her dream. When we have usually been asked, “what would you like to be when you grow up?” the most common reply would be “teacher, pilot or doctor”. I wondered what this girl on the image is dreaming of now, I wanted to talk to her but as soon I approached her while capturing the picture, she closed the door. 

 
I don’t blame her for doing that; actually I am happy she did! Because unfortunately today, she is threatened by sexual violence at any time and any place.

Recently, a three-year-old girl was raped by a caretaker at a children’s nursery in a Tunis suburb. As a reaction, protesters took the streets in front of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs demanding the resignation of Minister Sihem Badi, accusing her of defending the nursery and failing to protect children’s rights.

This is a case of rape among many that have occurred at other facilities under the ministry’s authority. However, will the minister’s resignation be the solution and stop any kind of violence or aggression against young girls? Or will this behavior become as normalized as raping women? Ms. Badi said that a member of the girl's family was to blame and that no measures against the nursery were needed. Consequently, this means taking the side of the violator and not the violated.

This article is published on Your Middle East:  http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/opinion/aya-chebbi-the-faltering-dreams-of-tunisian-girls_14119

This article was also translated to Polish, check it out here:  http://afryka.org/afryka/marzenia-tunezyjskich-dziewczynek,news/

Read More

"No Woman, No Cry" -International Day of Happiness-

“No Woman, No Cry” is the famous reggae song of Bob Marley and The Wailers. The original title is “No Woman, Nuh Cry” in Jamaica tongue.The “nuh”, is a shorter vowel sound for “no”, and corresponds to the short form “don’t”. The song tends to persuade women not to cry and reassure them that everything will be alright.This is what my friend Taiwo ADESOBA  from Nigeria has explained.

However, when I see how much women in the world suffer, I wonder how can women not cry,

When 95% of the victims of violence are female and 95-98% of the perpetrators are male...

When every 15 seconds a woman is beaten, raped, or killed...

When women still don't receive equal payment and are judged only for the fact that they are WOMEN...

When women not only in Afghanistan, Republic of Congo or India but also about 2 to 4 million of American women are battered each year by their partners...

It is a vicious circle of women's suffer everywhere, everyday...

Despite this reality, We, women, have the right to Life, to Happiness and to Smile...

On Bob Marley's beat I offer women, worldwide and  whom I met along the way, this video on the International Day of Happiness...  as a woman I celebrate everyday with a smile and would like all women to smile EVERYDAY...

  

 Nooooooo Woman, Don’t Cry

Read More

Pakistani Children Claim "It's my Right, Make it Right"

I was surfing into my Facebook wall when I've seen an interesting post by Muhammed Asshir, a friend of mine and activist from Pakistan who works as the Program Manager at We Can End All Violence Against Women Pakistan.

He posted this picture with a description that "A distant dream came true! Its the first ever Children Parliament of Pakistan"! At a first glance, I thought it might be something like Model United Nations or Model European Union. However, actually this is not a Model UN Conference or Model Parliament! This is a real Children Parliament of Pakistan, the first ever Children Assembly in Pakistan with more than 200 children coming across 36 districts of Pakistan,in particluar from the marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds. 

I felt a special pride of these kids and asked Aashir about the event. He said:" it is just like the Pakistani Parliament, starting from reading holy verses of the Quran, to the national anthem when all the parliamentarian members stand in the honor of the national anthem putting their hands on their heart..."

These kids who have gathered for three days, were divided into 5 committees where they had chair persons  to moderate the sessions. Each committee debated on their thematic focus, bringing on fore the problems, and proposing the solutions as they perceived it. The most remarkable part is that these children, at the end, produced a bill against Article 25-A, which is a constitutional right of education for every child in Pakistan, and particularly states that "Every child of the age 12-16 if not able to afford his or her education, then its the liability of the government to ensure that their education in the most appropriate manner". It doesn't stop here! This bill will be presented to the National Assembly of parliamentarians who will be debating and making it a formal amendment in the constitution of Pakistan!

 The slogan was "It's my Right, Make it Right" which is very expressive. "the first part of the slogan "Its my Right" is basically to draw the attention that education is my right", Aashir explained, "and the second part of the slogan "Make it Right" is basically the demand from the duty bearers that since education is my right so its your duty to grant me the provision of my constitutional right".



This is not the government's initiative, this is a civil society initiative of the Pakistani youth who worked hard on implementing their idea because they believe the "child of today is man of tomorrow" and these kids are the future leaders. By standing up in a real parliament, discussing in committees, debating and voting on their resolution, they have already taken a step towards claiming their rights, pushing their agenda and pressuring the state to respond to their needs.

I think this is a lesson from Pakistan to both Governments and Civil society organizations.
It is no more the era of  passing legislation by legislators and policy makers, it is the time for the voices of the general masses to be heard, where the children have their say! As Aashir said: "they are standing as policy makers to draft their own policy". On the other hand, as civil society organizations, we should  not wait for the government or expect it to empower youth or children, to guarantee our rights or create structured bodies to discuss our issues, WE should just take the initiative and the government will follow, just like what the Pakistani government did by showing interested to give support the Children Parliament of Pakistan after its big success! and remember "It always seems Impossible Until it is DONE"

 Check out the report here http://vimeo.com/61519258 

Read More

Will history repeat itself in Kenya's upcoming Elections?

Last year was an exciting year for many nations, as General Elections took place in different continents from the United States of America to Sierra Leone, Ghana to Japan, France, Serbia, Netherlands, Armenia as well as elections of transitional governments in Libya and Egypt. However, this year, all attention is directed to Kenya.

Having visited Kenya twice myself, I’ve fallen in love with the country, the culture and the people. The story started even from the airport when I was taking my visa and the officer said “shukran”! I thought maybe he was trying to speak my language as he saw that I am from Tunisia. But, within a few hours of being in Kenya, I heard even more Arabic-sounding words, like “marhaba”, “Ahsante”, “sabah al kheer”.  I found out that Swahili, the official language of Kenya, is actually derived from Arabic, my mother tongue!  Since then, my stay in Nairobi became a continuous learning journey. I was walking in the street and saw “smoking zones”. In fact, smoking is actually prohibited in public and workplaces except in those special designated smoking areas. That was really a surprise but my bigger surprise was when I searched on the net for a picture of these smoking areas to post it and found none!! Maybe the world doesn’t want to show the civilized Africa; more civilized actually than any “first world” country. I heard later that the law even prohibits virtually all forms of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products following this smoke-free legislation.

On another day, I came back from the UN headquarters to downtown in a Matatu (shared taxi) and by coincidence I met the assistant to the Vice President. Yes, he was in the same Matatu! He wasn’t in a Mercedes and nor did he even have a chauffeur. Still, my most unforgettable moment in Nairobi was my visit to the largest urban slum in Africa, ‘Kibera”.  I saw then why it’s called “extreme poverty” and also realized how hard to have elections in a country with 42 tribes. Recalling Kenya’s 2007 elections, I understand why people are suspicious about these elections. Indeed, the election preliminaries for various political parties were held last month, ending in violence in Kibera and other parts of Kenya with people claiming that their candidates were denied the certificate.

Last week, I received an unexpected email from the International Youth Council saying that the Annual African Youth Assembly that I was meant to be attending in two weeks is postponed due to the political situation in Kenya. The email stated “a lot of countries have issued travel warnings for Kenya for the time period of the conference”.  However, talking to my Kenyan friends through social media, I was surprised that most of them remain optimistic about these elections.

Joshua Ogure, a 32 years old blogger at Map Kibera Trust, says,“I think the elections will be fine this time, though there is a lot of tribalism”. Josh thinks that the government has done a lot to prevent any violence by implementing the new constitution that “controls political parties, elections act and also police reforms and judiciary”. He believes the events of 2007 will never happen again and “even if there will be some violence it cannot be as bad as 2007″. However, after the violence of last month Josh states: “there was no life lost but properties were damaged, it’s so sad that we cannot exercise transparency”.





Rose Wachuka, a 25 young lawyer working at the Supreme Court states some legislative facts for the upcoming elections:

“Kenyans will, for the first time vote for the President and his running mate, who then will be the Vice President. They will also vote for representatives to the two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate in addition to their local representatives at the County level”.

 She also stresses that various contenders are calling upon Kenyans to embrace peace.

“There is a tension but also a lot of peace campaigns across the country… optimism is what is keeping Kenyans afloat”, Rose affirms.

Moreover, women are actively campaigning for the reserved women representative seats and also engaged in party politics.

“The Constitution reserves 47 seats for women in the National Assembly and 16 seats in the Senate. It establishes a principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender. This principle should be enacted within five years since the promulgation of the Constitution in August 2010.”

Rose is however disappointed by female attitude to these opportunities:

“These are hard quotas set by the Constitution.  It will be interesting to note that women sometimes are not playing it with dignity as maligning strategies are still manifest in women representative campaigns, something she finds heartbreaking. 

She adds: “Women should treat their opponents with respect and introduce a sane culture of politics. Isn’t this what women have been known to do? They emphasize more on performance and not hooliganism?”

Today, fears, tension and clashes are intensifying on Kenyan streets, but a brief comparative observation with the previous violent elections will lead us to three main positive aspirations for Kenya’s March elections. First of all, the elections are taking place in March not in December as in previous years. The day of the elections will also be a working day and within the school term, unlike those held in 2007.

Also, in August 2010; Kenyans overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, which decreed that the elections be managed and supervised by an independent electoral body and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Beyond this, women and young people are more involved than ever before. Political parties will nominate 16 female representatives to the Senate, double the figure of 2007. Besides, during the last five years, Kenya hosted multiple international events and projects that focused on youth involvement in the economic, social and political debate.

I think if we only have more Kenyans who believed, like Rose, that they owe it to themselves and Kenya as a whole “to be part of its future and its governance”, the country will peacefully move forward. Rose declares: “My vote is my voice and I intend to use it.  I am a registered voter and I will vote with conscience and for policy, not for tribe or popularity”.

This article was published on the International Political forum : http://internationalpoliticalforum.com/kenya-elections-2013/

and republished on Safe World for Women http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/rights-defenders/rd-africa/3730-kenyan-elections.html

Read More

Assassination is an extreme form of Censorship

Yesterday, I was asked by American freshmen students during the Arabic Cultural Hour I organized : "Do people in Tunisia live peacefully with each other". My answer was: "We do because we have been raised on a culture of tolerance and solidarity". I was even giving examples of how we saved and hosted the Jews during the Holocaust or how the extended family stand together in crises.

However, what I see today in Tunisia is none of our culture, spirit or grandma stories about the 50s and 60s.

Under two dictatorships, people were exiled, jailed, tortured, oppressed by those in power but NEVER assassinated. Though all the frustration it has been through these last two years, the Tunisian society has started to take a political shape, from over 100 emerging parties in 2011 to three major blocs today, from bullshit discussions and unknown figures on media outlets to diverse constructive debate, solid views and interesting figures and leaders' positions, from a very weak and submissive civil society to an empowered one, from traditional biased media to citizen journalism. Then, yesterday, everything is back to square one...

Every single life and soul of every Tunisian is worthy. The lives of children, man , women and all people and so is the life of those dedicated to public service. The assassination of Chokri Belaid is a sorrow for Tunisia not only because it is an act of killing a human being but also an act of extreme censorship to a leader who revealed corruption and voiced the voiceless.This is not censoring YouTube or Daily-motion, hacking blogs,Facebook Pages and Tweeter accounts, dispersing protests with teargas or bribing and shutting mouths.This is killing and censoring the heartbeat for Lifetime.

When journalists are arrested because they've taken photos for their articles, we ask where is freedom of expression? When everything is denied accessibility we ask where is transparency? When the corrupt hands are out of jail, we ask where is accountability? when political leaders are assassinated because of their positions, what shall we ask?

Alike, living under oppression and violations for years, Tunisians never had resort to violence as response to any form of oppression or crisis. The demands have always been through hunger strikes, peaceful protests and rallies that of course have always been successfully shut down until the revolution. However, today, people denounce for terror and violence and the extreme minds call for division.

I wonder who can be happy, by the end of the day, because of incitation to violence, contribution to killing, chaos or division! What I am sure of , it can be anyone but a real Tunisian patriot who loves Tunisia's soil, hold its flag and chant its anthem by heart!

 
This article is translated to Polish by Fundacja Afryka Inaczej check it out http://afryka.org/afryka/morderstwo-jako-skrajna-forma-cenzury,news/

Read More