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TUNISIA – AYA CHEBBI SPEECH AT UN WOMEN EVENT – CSW 59
Tunisia/MENA – Continuing Arab Spring Women
Efforts for Equality, Democracy
They Must Define Their Own Struggles, Progress, in Their Own Contexts
March 17, 2015 - Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender
Equality, celebratory commemoration brought together top political actors,
musical performances, high-powered speakers and celebrities including President
of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Former United States Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Arquette, Mayor of New
York City Bill de Blasio, global philanthropist Melinda Gates, UN Women Goodwill
Ambassador and actor-director from India Farhan Akhtar, UN Women Executive
Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and luminaries from politics, the arts,
activism and philanthropy.
Aya
Chebbi is a Tunisian blogger and activist who participated in WELDD training on
political participation training in Cairo in December 2013. She was
invited to speak at the Planet 50-50 by 2030 event. Below is the
transcript of her speech.
Video:
http://www.weldd.org/gallery/aya-chebbi-speech-united-nations-un-women-2015-csw59
Honoured Guests, Marhaba as we
greet in Arabic.
I come from a region that is
considered the most dangerous in the world; yet, in Tunisia we have
successfully achieved considerable milestones in democracy and stability.
In 2010, we revolted for dignity
and freedom. We were the spark of an uprising the world propagated
as the Arab Spring. But we call it “the revolution of Dignity”.
Young women like me took to the streets, unafraid to die. When I
reflect on the past 4 years, I recognize the boldness of my generation to shape
our destiny and that of future generations.
But who was behind our victory? It
was the Tunisian people including Tunisian women who chose to be part of
History… the history that had been steered towards depriving women
equal opportunities and marginalizing the youth. We
decided to re-write this history and make it right for the generations to
come.
But there still are
challenges. In Egypt, virginity tests are performed on
female ‘protest’ detainees, a humiliating and terrorizing practice. In
Syria, over 15,000 women have been killed by the Syrian regime to date and
over 8,000 others subjected to sexual violence.
However, this is not our first
struggle… it’s not our first victory. Women where I come from have been
fighting patriarchy for more than a century, fighting for social change,
equality and democracy for decades.
So, the world must respect our
right to define our own struggles, in our own contexts, a context that has been
affected by post-colonialism, Orientalism and Islamophobia.
Through the efforts and sacrifice
of young women, our mark upon dignity and equality shall not go unrecognized;
our experiences shall not go unnoticed.
Article 46 of Tunisia’s
Constitution stands as an embodiment of the gains we have attained as women
through civil action. We have conquered repressive laws and set our country
upon the transformative values of equality and dignity.
Our generation of feminist
movements in Africa and the Middle East, in conflict zones, and all parts of
the world going through hard times, shall continue to be in the frontline. Even
when we are set backward… even when many of our counterparts have fallen… we
must set our countries upon a constitutional path of maturation and societal
awareness of gender equality. Let’s continue the flight.
Shukran. Thank you
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