A first for Tunisia

Tomorrow means big change for Tunisia.

For the first time in history, Tunisian citizens will choose the head of their state in a free, democratic and transparent presidential election. This entitled right comes after several hundred years of great political and regional instability. The Tunisian Revolution of 2011 saw men, women and children take to the streets in protest and civil resistance when the long time dictatorship led by president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted to make way for the democratic vote, which is now an enshrined right in the Tunisian Constitution of 2014.

Nesrine Triki, lecturer at the University of Tunis and member of the DOUSTOURNA Network, a non-government organization which advocates for human rights, participatory democracy and civic education, says: “We are proud of ourselves, especially when you see what is happening in the neighbor countries of the ‘Arab Spring’. There is civil war in Libya, a military coup in Egypt, political and security problems in Yemen and civil war and terrorism in Syria.”

Nesrine has been a member of the DOUSTOURNA Network since its creation following the revolution. Its members have played a crucial role in the drafting of the Tunisian Constitution and have since mobilised Tunisian support around the key issues facing this new type of transitional democracy. As people go to polling stations tomorrow, Nesrine has volunteered to administer the electoral processes at one such station to ensure citizen’s choices are protected. Several training sessions later and an anticipated two days of no sleep ahead to guarantee transparent and democratic processes, Nesrine shares the word on the street.

Made with care

“You’d think the biggest challenge would be taking the whole family to India. I quit my job; we took the two kids out of school and enrolled them in an Indian one. We spent 36 hours on a train up to Rajasthan, 40 hours on the way back.”

Matilde Ferone is an activist, born and trained. She loves nothing more than travelling, collaborating and giving back to the world. She has packed up her family - her husband and two beautiful daughters Blue 8 and Maya 5 - more than once to step away from the high life of London, to really live: cultural lessons, spiritual epiphanies and grassroots connections the central focus.

“The biggest challenge instead has been finding the best way to market my project and its products. I’m a one woman show, so working out how to best manage my time, as well as maintaining self-belief in my mission definitely trumps living in India, or anywhere for that matter."

Matilde is the founder of Matik Boutique – a London based boutique and project working closely with women textile producers in India and Ghana to reframe fair trade in terms of fashion.

“I have always been interested in the role of women in development. Research and practice show that by investing in women, we can break the poverty cycle. Women tend to be more effective at saving money, they are more likely to invest in their children and they are generally more responsible,” Matilde explained.

When Matilde and her family were in India earlier this year, sourcing and connecting with women’s collectives for her project, she met Lakshmi Bai, a Quilt Maker from Rajasthan who said: “ This job has given me the opportunity to give my daughter a better future. Whatever I could not enjoy as a child, I ensure that my daughter gets. She will get the best education possible. I used to worry a lot about how I would do it but now I have courage and money. I will work more and earn more money and make her a doctor." 

“That’s why I am doing what I am doing,” Matilde added. “To empower these women to have a say in the lives they and their children live.”

Ourmala: Yoga for social justice

“Following my heart is how I live my life. Sometimes it’s really easy, and other times it is challenging and terrifying, but by placing my trust in life itself, the most incredible opportunities and experiences have opened-up.”

“And when I can’t hear my heart, I know the most important thing is to get into a position where I can, and then I listen and the answer becomes clear.”

This is Emily Brett, yoga teacher and founder of Ourmala; a small charity in London that helps refugee and asylum-seeking women find strength through yoga. The main group they work with are registered with the UK Home Office to seek refuge in the UK.

I met with Emily at Ourmala’s headquarters, a converted shipping container overlooking the trees, field and pig pen at Hackney City Farm in East London.

Emily has changed the lives of more than 170 refugee and asylum-seeking women living in London since starting-up in 2011. Ourmala now has a waiting list of women wanting to practice yoga and organisations that work with refugees wanting yoga classes at their centres. 

I wanted to understand Emily's story, motivation and actions behind her grand vision.

Photography by Carl Bigmore

You have created something really special; a space for women who have been forcibly displaced to enjoy yoga. Can you tell me more about the situation for these women?

“Sure, I’d love to… Many don’t realise, but the refugee and asylum-seeking community is one of the most marginalised, under-represented, impoverished, vulnerable and stigmatised in the UK. Eighty per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries. In the UK, refugees, pending asylum cases and stateless people make-up only 0.27% of the total population (Source: UNHCR 2012 Global Trends Report.)

The women are here to seek refuge and, for most, the situation is dire. I mean, incredibly tough. Many are dealing with mental, emotional and physical issues from the trauma they faced in their home countries. Torture, sexual violence, human trafficking and female genital mutilation are common experiences.

When they arrive in London, they often know no one and are faced with huge language barriers, poverty, malnutrition, over-crowded or unstable accommodation. For a single person, the National Asylum Seeking Support is £36.62 a week which obviously does not go very far in London.

I’ve asked women what they do during the day, and a not uncommon answer has been: ‘Sit on a bench in the park… or pray in my room….’

Many are separated from their loved ones, which can include not knowing whether they are alive.”

Women and Water

What does a simple toilet facility, clean water and hygiene have to do with the happiness and wellbeing of women and girls worldwide?

Everything, simply.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene translates into gender equality: A very different kind of life for an estimated 384 million women and girls who live without safe water, and for the 1.25 billion (that’s right, billion!) who do not have access to a toilet.

Take a moment to think what this actually means. How this would translate in your life. 

Try to step into the life of another.

If you did not have clean drinking water, what would you drink? Where would you go to fetch water? Who would be responsible for porting the water for you and your family? What impact would this have?

If you did not have access to a toilet, where would you go? When? How? What risk would this pose? How about your health?

It’s almost impossible to picture this life if since the day you were born, you have been privileged to these basic and entitled rights.

Your imagination can only take you so far. 

Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith 

This is Solo, aged 13 years-old from Madagascar. At least twice a day, she has to carry 20 litres of dirty water up a steep, narrow path, putting her health and her future at risk. 

Photo by Mani Karmacharya 

This is Chameli, 15 years-old from Nepal. She likes to read and wants to improve her English, but at least three times a day, she has to collect water for her family – which makes her late for school and hampers her progress.

To help paint the picture, I spoke with Hratche  Koundarjin, Water Aid’s UK News Manager, who is working with his team to make it known to the masses - to you and I - that water and toilets are essential to changing the lives of women and girls in disadvantaged communities, particularly across Africa and Asia. 

"Traditionally - and still to this day - fetching water is considered one of women and girls’ many domestic duties," said Hratche.

A gift for you

Heba. This is an Arabic name derived for the Quran, which means gift or blessing.

Nestled on Brick Lane in London’s East you will find women from South Asia, Africa and the Middle East who embody the meaning of this word. They have arrived in London from vast and varied circumstances and their new life in the UK is just that - a gift and a blessing.

In search of direction, community and a sense of home, more than 300 migrant women a year come to the organisation rightly named the Heba Women’s Project. Some stay just a few months; for others, it’s a lifetime affair, returning time and time again for the friendship and the support. Regardless – each woman leaves Heba feeling different. Changed even. Empowered.

And the key to this empowerment? The safe space, the people and the learning opportunities most certainly help but the real elevator – the ultimate personal endorsement - is commitment. Commitment on behalf of each woman to be open, listen and try.

The project was started 24 years ago by eight Bangladeshi women, wives of leather workers,  who needed a space of their own for informal study and problem sharing. New to London – and its people, cultural norms, working environment and family demands - the women realised that there were many other new women to London who felt just as lost. These founding members were provided a room among the vintage boutiques and curry restaurants on Brick Lane by the Spitafields Small Business Association, a not-for-profit organisation which supports community and socially-minded initiatives take flight.

What has developed is a centre which provides more than 300 women a year from diverse cultural backgrounds with a safe space to make new friends and connections, learn valuable knowledge and skills, and engage in enterprise activities to meet their individual needs and family commitments.

I walked into the centre just on lunchtime as spoonfulls of couscous, shepherds’ pie, lentils and beans were being dished up. There was a constant hum of chatter and spikes of laughter as the women caught up after the morning session of classes.