Mabrouka Mbarek (born 31 May 1980) is a Tunisian academic and politician who was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia.
Mabrouka Mbarek (born 31 May 1980) is a Tunisian academic and politician who was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia.
Mbarek was born in Strasbourg on 31 May 1980 to Tunisian parents who had emigrated from Bir Ali Ben Khélifa in the 1970s. [1] She has a Masters in Economic and Social Administration from the University of Strasbourg and an MBA from the Reims Management School. [1] [2]
Mbarek undertook an internship at the French Embassy in Sana'a. [1] She then worked as an auditor in Berkeley, United States, before working for an American NGO in the middle east. [1]
After the Tunisian Revolution, Mbarek joined the Congress for the Republic in Montreal and was elected to the National Constituent Assembly representing the constituency of the Americas and Europe (except France, Italy and Germany). [1] She was a member of the Committees on Internal Rules and Immunity, Finance, Planning and Development, and the Constitutional Draft Committee. She also advised President Moncef Marzouki on issues of debt and transparency. In 2012, Mbarek tabled a bill calling on Tunisia to repay debts contracted under the previous dictatorship as part of the democratic transition. [3] She was responsible for the creation of an open government initiative called the CopenGovTN taskforce, which advocates for a more participatory government, the rebuilding of a democratic model, and universal human rights. [2]
After completing her parliamentary term in 2014, Mbarek became a researcher at the Middle East Institute, focusing on monetary and fiscal policies in the post-revolutionary context. [4]
In 2014, Mbarek was named one of Harvard Law School's "Women Inspiring Change." [2] In 2016, she taught a course on Tunisia and the Arab Spring at Middlebury College. [5] She has written opinion pieces for Tunisia Live, [6] and CNN . [7]
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, and is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east, covering 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi), with a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert, with much of its remaining territory being arable land. Its 1,300 km (810 mi) of coastline include the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela; and its capital and largest city is Tunis, located on its northeastern coast, which lends the country its name.
The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law. Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto one-party state, with politics dominated by the secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former Presidents Habib Bourguiba and then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. However, in 2011 a national uprising led to the ousting of the President and the dismantling of the RCD, paving the way for a multi-party democracy. October 2014 saw the first democratic parliamentary elections since the 2011 revolution, resulting in a win by the secularist Nidaa Tounes party with 85 seats in the 217-member assembly.
Islam is the official state religion in Tunisia. According to CIA, 99.1% of its adherents are Sunni Muslims. The constitution of Tunisia states that the country's “religion is Islam”, the government is the “guardian of religion”, and requires that the president be Muslim. The predominant madhhab in the country is the Maliki school. The Tunisian island of Djerba is home to a population of Ibadi Muslims.
The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratisation of the country and to free and democratic elections.
Mohamed Moncef Marzouki is a Tunisian politician who served as the third president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014. Through his career he has been a human rights activist, physician and politician. On 12 December 2011, he was elected President of Tunisia by the Constituent Assembly.
The Congress for the Republic, also referred to as El Mottamar or by its French acronym CPR, is a centre-left secular political party in Tunisia. It was created in 2001, but legalised only after the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Its most prominent founder and long-term leader was Moncef Marzouki. He had been the party's honorary president since he became interim President of Tunisia in December 2011.
The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in response to corruption and economic stagnation and was first started in Tunisia. From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where either the ruler was deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām!.
The Ennahda Movement, also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia.
Afek Tounes is a centre-right political party in Tunisia. Its program is liberal, focusing on secularism and civil liberties. The party mainly appealed to intellectuals and the upper class.
The Syrian opposition is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-government groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian government.
Karima Souid, born April 4, 1971, in Lyon, is a Tunisian politician, member of the Social Democratic Path.
Nidaa Tounes is a big tent secularist political party in Tunisia. After being founded in 2012, the party won a plurality of seats in the October 2014 parliamentary election. The party's founding leader Beji Caid Essebsi was elected President of Tunisia in the 2014 presidential election.
The Popular Front for the Realization of the Objectives of the Revolution, abbreviated as the Popular Front (ej-Jabha), is a leftist political and electoral alliance in Tunisia, made up of nine political parties and numerous independents.
Women played a variety of roles in the Arab Spring, but its impact on women and their rights is unclear. The Arab Spring was a series of demonstrations, protests, and civil wars against authoritarian regimes that started in Tunisia and spread to much of the Arab world. The leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown; Bahrain has experienced sustained civil disorder, and the protests in Syria have become a civil war. Other Arab countries experienced protests as well.
The Wafa Movement, sometimes referred to as the Independent Democratic Congress, is a political party in Tunisia.
Amira Yahyaoui is a Tunisian entrepreneur, blogger and human rights activist. She was previously the Founder and President of Al Bawsala, a multi-awarded transparency and accountability NGO.
The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet is a group of four civil society organizations that were central mediators in the effort to consolidate democratic gains and to form a lasting constitutional settlement in Tunisia following the unrest and historic regime change of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.[1]
Meherzia Labidi Maïza was a Tunisian politician and professional translator and interpreter. She became the first deputy speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia.
Latifa Habachi is a Tunisian lawyer and politician who is a member of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.
Liberalism in Tunisia, or Tunisian Liberalism, is a school of political ideology that encompasses various political parties in the country.