Tunisian women during the revolution in 2011- between participation and marginalization -

Abstract

Arab women played a crucial part in the uprisings of the Arab world in 2011-2012. Women actively participated in protests, marches, blogging, tweeting, organization of transportations and shelter; some got engaged in physical confrontations with the police forces and risked their lives during the days of the protests. However this moment of social equality was vanished away very fast after the demonstrations were settled or the regimes had fallen. Now, two years after the revolution, women in the Arab world- whether active or not, organized or not- are vowing not be marginalized by the new political systems. This study examines the perceptions of Tunisian women who experienced the revolution that is going on since December 2010. The research explores the following questions. First, what made women go on the streets to protest? And second, how do they see themselves currently represented in the political and social arena one year after a new Islamist government has been established. And finally, what do they see as obstacles in obtaining and maintaining rights and in developing women’s empowerment under the post-revolutionary regime?