Tunisia Archives - YaLa Press

Opinion | Tunisian Elections: Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea by Nourjahen Jemaa Gara-Ali, Tunisia

Author: Nourjahen Jemaa Gara-Ali, Tunisia
Published: September 17, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Current Events, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Opinion and Analysis, Politics, Tunisia
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On the International Day of Democracy, September 15th, Tunisia had its Presidential Elections. Voters went to their polling locations to give their voices to the person they trust most. However, voter turnout reached only 45,02% despite 1 million people registering to vote in the months leading to the elections, according to the Independent High Authority […]

All the Undisclosed Stories of the City by Ala Oueslati, Tunisia

Author: Ala Oueslati
Published: June 16, 2019
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, English, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Tolerance, Travel, Tunisia
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Tags: city, diversity, newyork, stories

I still get lost in New York. I will probably still always get lost in New York. Because it is a gigantic city, but also because I have a terrible sense of direction that even my phone GPS can’t rectify. This city is a magical place. With a great deal of diversity, livelihood, and richness, […]

Becoming my Choice by Oumeima, Tunisia

Author: Oumeima, Tunisia
Published: May 21, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Religion, Special Edition Archive, Tolerance, Tunisia
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Tags: cultural diversity, hijab, hijab and choice, Inspiration, religion, self awarness, tunisia, Tunisian

On September 19 2017, I came to a realisation that my faith and spirituality should not be something I would like strangers to identify me with, and consequently I took off my Hijab. Questioning my Identification with the headscarf was something I have never thought about before. Actuality, it’s something that terrified me altogether […]

I am Here for my Daughter – Equality in Inheritance for Tunisian Women by Oumeima, Tunisia

Author: Oumeima, Tunisia
Published: May 7, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Countries, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Religion, Tolerance, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: hereformydaughter, humanrights, inheritancelaw, tunisia, womensrights

The issue of women’s rights has always been central to the legal discussion in Tunisia, hence, consistent reforms to family law have been carried out since the 1950s. Guaranteeing basic human rights in family laws means ensuring the protection of women’s rights and by large good family practices. Although since its independence Tunisia has set […]

YaLa Poetry | Incongruous by Yosr S, Tunisia

Author: By Yosr S, Tunisia
Published: January 22, 2019
Categories: in Art, Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Human Rights, Identity, Tunisia, YaLa Poetry
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That desire to live To truly live, for the best Went on fire Blazing all over the place Seeking Detoxification in the wild Do not teach them the ordinary way For you have not an ordinary child They always strive for the best Let them teach you For the world rendered you quite. Do not […]

Euphoria by Maryam, Tunisia

Author: By Maryam, Tunisia
Published: November 22, 2018
Categories: in English, Identity, Life Style, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: life, mental health, Mental Illness, self esteem, truth

That day I left him and he wasn’t feeling good. My sister stood by him reading some verses of the Quran and you could barely understand what she was saying, she was in tears. I was shocked and hoped that nothing bad happened and that it would fade away once I came back home. But […]

Stronger Than You Think by Imen Riahi, Tunisia

Author: By Imen Riahi, Tunisia
Published: November 6, 2018
Categories: in Development, English, Identity, Life Style, Tunisia
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It brings great sadness when you find yourself searching for a paper and pen, wanting to write a short story about yourself, but it is ultimately a blessing. When you think you are strange and no one can understand you, it’s hard for you to have a close friend or a boyfriend either. I was […]

Putting A Smile On A Sad Face by Wafa, Tunisia

Author: By Wafa, Tunisia
Published: October 25, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Refugee

A few years ago, before the Tunisian Revolution, I wasn’t engaged in any volunteer activities nor affiliated with any NGO. Recently, I’ve been hooked on helping others, filled to the bone with it. Just as my religion encourages, I am kind to my neighbours and my surroundings, but I didn’t expect to help war refugees […]

The Human Race by Ehab Hmz

Author: By Ehab Hmz
Published: October 18, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Democracy, Development, Education, English, Human Rights, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: stopracism

We are all members of the human race. Fundamentally speaking, racism’s main cure is knowledge and love. It may be complicated for some of us to understand how an individual can have a racist attitude and hatred towards others. Here are a few explanations that I found about this phenomenon: Several studies have shown that […]

Father, My Life’s Hero You will Forever Be by Safa, Tunisia

Author: By Safa, Tunisia
Published: October 9, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Human Rights, Identity, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: family, storytelling

I knew he was dying, but I couldn’t accept it. We had been in the hospital for weeks and had fallen into the routine, waiting, watching, and remembering the laughter, the sadness, and the silence. Then we took him home, as the doctors couldn’t help him anymore. I realized then that I had assumed that […]

Photo Essay | Traditional Tunis by Imen, Tunisia

Author: By Imen, Tunisia
Published: September 9, 2018
Categories: in Art, Culture and Heritage, English, Photo Essays, Travel, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #Maghreb, artisan, entrepreneurship, handmade, home, Media, traditions, Travel, tunisia, tunisiantraditions

By Imen, Tunisia

Video | International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition by By Hadeel, Palestine & the YaLa Alumni

Author: By Hadeel, Palestine
Published: August 23, 2018
Categories: in Arabic, Civil Activism, Current Events, English, French, Human Rights, Identity, Israel, Palestine, Tolerance, Tunisia, Videos
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Tags: history, Humanity, Memorial Day

Being traded and treated as a slave is the worst humiliation one can imagine, and the slave trade is one of the most heinous crimes the world is still trying to eradicate. Every human is bestowed with humanity from the moment of their birth. But it is in the human nature of some to try […]

Schizophrenia by Mayssa Benyounes, Tunisia

Author: By Mayssa Benyounes, Tunisia
Published: July 25, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Culture and Heritage, Democracy, Development, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: genderequality

…And all of a sudden you figure out that when people see you, they think about men! “Doesn’t she have a father?” “Wouldn’t she have a husband?” “Where is her father?” “Why is she like that?” “Why is she FREE?” “She mustn’t think!” “CUT HER BREATH!” “When will she get married?” “She MUST get married, […]

Magnificence of Sidi Bou by Meriem Somai, Tunisia

Author: by Meriem Somai, Tunisia
Published: July 7, 2018
Categories: in Art, English, Identity, Photo Essays, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: colors, Culture, discovertheregion, history, Inspiration, Travel, tunisia, YaLa Photo Essay

I would like to share with you my favorite pictures that I took with my phone. They reflect the oriental taste of the Middle Eastern and Northern African countries. After coming back from the United States, I started looking at my country, Tunisia, from a different perspective. I am proud that Tunisia is rich regarding […]

The Journey of Identity by Aziza Douma, Tunisia

Author: By Aziza Douma, Tunisia
Published: June 6, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Human Rights, Identity, Israel-Palestine, Travel, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #IDENTITY #THINKACTYALA

It was 1972 in southern Tunisia, in a little village called Old Zraoua. I woke up at 5 AM to the sounds of the rooster, like any normal day. It was dawn, and I could still see the stars shining in the sky as the sun rises on the horizon. The temperature would rise very […]

#MEN’too by Amine Hajji, Tunisia

Author: by Amine Hajji, Tunisia
Published: May 21, 2018
Categories: in Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #METOO, Harassment

Since October 2017, thousands of men in power have been crawling out of their skin, heavily drinking, and recalling every interaction they had with a woman which might be considered –surprisingly to them- as a form of sexual harassment. The “Breaking News” theme of every major media update for the past two months has been […]

Beauty in the Old by Aziza, Tunisia (photo-essay)

Published: May 21, 2018
Categories: in Photo Essays, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, discovertheregion

No Matter How Many Skies Have Fallen by Afef, Tunisia

Author: by Afef, Tunisia
Published: May 2, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Tunisia
Comments: 1 Comment

I embarked on research by focusing on the female rebellion in D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I found the novel on the bookshelves of my father among various other books and anthologies he brought from the U.S. I still remember that moment when I opened the novel for the first time… my eyes fell on […]

Timing is Everything by Atef Amri, Tunisia

Author: By Atef Amri,
Published: April 11, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Development, Education, English, Identity, Life Style, Tunisia
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Reading other people’s stories, I realize how hard it is to have grown up in war zones, conflict areas, and to have gone through major losses. As for me, I did not grow up in a conflict zone and did not see loved ones die at my sight, but I still believe that my life […]

She, Breaking Free by Zineb, Tunisia

Author: By Zineb, Tunisia
Published: April 10, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Development, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Feminism, gender equality

Her room, again, portrayed an obscure cavern of darkness which was not new to her. A vintage dress, from an era that goes way back, was the only separation between her skin and the creeping midnight chill. In her usual sleeplessness, she was drunk on silence. For hours, it had seeped into her pores, dowsing […]