Neila Zoghlami: Surely there will be noise while tearing down the walls!

Tunisian Association of The Democratic Women (ATFD) announced that they postponed their "Feminists against everything" conference. “Surely, there will be noise while tearing down the walls, surely there will be those who are disturbed,” said Neila Zoghlami while drawing attention to those who are disturbed by the organization of Tunisian women.

Tunisia – Founded in 1989 by experts and volunteer activists, Tunisian Association of The Democratic Women (ATFD) announced that they postponed the 13th "Feminists against everything" conference. The conference has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is not yet clear when the conference will be held.

Neila Zoghlami, secretary-general of the feminist Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, has announced that they had to postpone the conference within the scope of the pandemic measures taken by the Tunisian government. Stating that the meetings at the previous conferences were important for them and their work, Neila Zoghlami said, “Our conference is also a space of political stance, discussions, analysis, and criticism.”

“Our association is open to everyone”

Our association is open to everyone, Zoghlami said, “We are accused of representing elite women but the door of our association is open to all women, who support women’s struggle, demand democracy, whom we can come together to solve women’s problems.”

Pointed out that the women's struggle disturbs the current political authority, Neila Zoghlami emphasized the importance of women's participation and organization in every field.

“More Tunisian women must participate in politics. We must protect our rights, we must be elected more, we must prove our presence in the public sphere, and we must be able to prepare political lists. We must work more. We must work until we will have equality in municipalities, constitutional bodies, and supervision bodies. Surely, we face violence but we shouldn’t be afraid. Surely, there will be noise while tearing down the walls, surely there will be those who are disturbed, this is normal. Women should be able to file a complaint when they are subjected to violence and harassment. We deserve to be citizens, not first or second-class citizens.”