ZOUHOUR MECHERGUI

Tunisia- Tunisian journalist Shaimaa Basibs, who advocates for gender equality and the rights of women, tells the success stories of Tunisian women on her radio show to build a culture of equality in society. In an interview with NuJINHA, she said that Tunisia is a pioneer country in the region that is moving fast on the road to enacting legislation aimed at protecting women against discrimination and guaranteeing their rights, especially personal status laws and combating violence against women but this is insufficient to achieve gender equality.

What kind of issues do you focus on during your radio show?

On my radio show, we cover and discuss different issues of young women and men. We try to strengthen the leadership positions of women and tell their experiences. When we talk about women's issues in Tunisia, we talk about topics that will encourage them to go out, improve and prove themselves. Radio Jeunes Tunisie makes a great effort to achieve gender equality in society. In order to achieve gender equality, we tell the success stories of Tunisian women.

I have joined many activities of CREDIF (The Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation, and Information on Women) and other women’s associations to defend women's rights, and promote their political, economic, social, and cultural empowerment. I have also joined online campaigns to combat violence against women. I think telling the stories of women is important to achieve gender equality.

Do you think young people are more aware to build a new culture and engage in awareness-raising campaigns to defend women’s rights?  

When we compare the situation of Tunisian women with other women in the region, we see that the situation of Tunisian women is better. More young people make efforts to empower women, promote their reality and raise awareness about the importance of achieving their rights, especially on social media.

We also see that the number of women in decision-making positions is increasing. Additionally, there are many projects supporting women entrepreneurs.

Could we say that Tunisian women have gained their rights as a result of their decades of struggle?

We hope that Tunisian women will be able to make other victories and succeed by changing their situation in general and enhancing their rights and the gains they have achieved next year. We want women to increase their participation in various fields and to take more part in decision-making mechanisms and leadership roles. That's why we should work harder to change the perception of society.

Non-governmental organizations and official institutions should carry out more activities to ensure gender equality in society. We believe that Tunisian women are involved in all fields of science, literature, economy, and politics. But we still want to build a new culture in society and increase the leading role of women.