News Center — On October 24, based on Decree No. 88, Tunisian authorities suspended the activities of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women for one month. This comes in the context of a deepening political crisis in Tunisia since the announcement of exceptional measures, followed by a referendum on a new constitution and a series of arrests targeting opponents and activists.

On Sunday, October 26, the NADA Feminist Democratic Alliance for the Middle East and North Africa issued a statement expressing its concern over the suspension of the association’s activities.

 

The statement read:

“We are today witnessing a serious setback in the space for civic and political engagement, reflected in the paralysis of elected institutions, the suspension of several constitutional bodies, the dissolution of numerous associations, the arrest of opponents, and the repression of free expression under Decree 54. Power has been concentrated in a single hand, while fair trial mechanisms have been disrupted — all far removed from the principles of dialogue, democracy, and participation.”

Since its establishment in 1989, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women has chosen to be the voice of Tunisian women — carrying their struggle for rights and freedoms as an indivisible whole, working to establish the principles of full and effective equality, and eliminating all forms of discrimination.

The statement highlighted that throughout its thirty-six years of activity, the association has been a driving force for advocacy and policy proposals, producing numerous activities, publications, and studies on women’s and human rights — making the feminist memory of Tunisia a regional and global reference.

The association has continued to build its capacities and engage in national, regional, and international networks, defending a democratic, progressive feminist project rooted in the belief that there is no freedom without equality, and no democracy without women.

The statement stressed that “the current struggle in Tunisia is fundamentally political — one in which opposing voices and pluralist thought are being targeted in an attempt to impose a single ideology and silence activists.”

Through its statement, the NADA Alliance expressed its unconditional solidarity and full support for this longstanding association, which has contributed — and continues to contribute — to building an enlightened, progressive society based on dignity, justice, and equality.

It further asserted that “the decision to suspend the association’s activities, along with the closure of centers supporting women survivors of violence, represents a grave violation of women’s rights and of freedom of association and civic work. This constitutes an unacceptable regression in a country whose women were pioneers in the region’s struggle for freedom, dignity, and equality.”

Finally, the NADA Alliance called for intensified mobilization and solidarity among civil and democratic organizations, to resist all measures that restrict freedoms and civic action, and to revive the revolutionary path of Tunisia — one rooted in freedom, justice, and equality.