Tunis women's forum exhorts youth to draw inspiration from veteran activists' struggles, triumphs

TUNIS — Arab women activists and feminists meeting in Tunis agreed that engaging the younger generation in women’s causes is of extreme importance to continue the struggle for better women’s representation in their respective countries.

The participants discussed several topics related to women’s empowerment in their own countries and made a number of suggestions, including to ensure that the younger generation’s voice is heard and that they are informed about the experiences, ideas and stories of successes and failures of veteran activists.

25 feminists and activists from various parts of the Arab world are attending a three-day feminist forum in Tunis, which is being organised by the Oxfam MENA Region Office to address women’s causes in an unconventional manner to ensure real change in their societies.

The participants also discussed means to introduce comprehensive plans that target schools, the media and the arts world to ensure gender equality and to eliminate all content that reinforces stereotypes and discrimination against women.

Among other topics covered was means for the women’s movement to continuously set their priorities, regardless of insufficient funding that sometimes limits their activities.

Among the aims of the forum, according to a statement by Oxfam, is to exchange ideas and experiences within the women’s movement in order to tackle social barriers that are contributing to gender-based violence.

Another goal is to revise and revisit previous and current campaigns to discuss necessary changes to ensure the success and continuation of such movements, according to the statement.

The meeting also seeks to explore new and unconventional methods of collaboration within the women’s movement in the Arab world to support local activism, the statement said.

The ultimate aim is to empower the women’s movement in the Arab world and to focus on creating a clear and sustainable vision that has a positive impact on people’s lives, the organisers added.

Other points of discussion during the second day’s meeting focused on breaking the ceiling of fear in tackling certain topics related to gender equality.

The gathering also stressed the need to run clear and strong campaigns that serve the purpose of raising awareness and guaranteeing a societal openness towards women’s causes.