TUNIS: Nurse Amina Ben Hammou beamed with pride when President Kais Saied named Najla Bouden Romdhane as Tunisia’s first woman prime minister on Wednesday.
“I am optimistic about a woman being prime minister, so let’s try it,” she said.
“And I imagine, according to my opinion, that a woman will make Tunisia succeed because women are serious, combative and patient, and these three things are very important.”
Saied asked Bouden, a little-known professor of geophysics who implemented World Bank projects at the education ministry, to form a government quickly amid a political crisis following his near total seizure of power.
But in reality, Bouden will have fewer powers than other prime ministers since Tunisia’s Arab Spring uprising in 2011 because Saied now holds all the cards in his hands.
Last week, he suspended most of the constitution, saying he could rule by decree during an “exceptional” period with no set ending, calling into question democratic gains after Tunisia’s revolution.
Elected in 2019, Saied has been under domestic and international pressure to name a government after he dismissed the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority in July in moves his foes call a coup.
However, the appointment of Bouden marks a social advance in the Muslim country, which has some of the most progressive laws governing women’s rights in North Africa and the Middle East.
Religion-based personal status laws govern marriage, child custody, divorce and inheritance although activist say Tunisia still discriminates in men’s favor in inheritance rights.
Saied asked Bouden to propose a cabinet in the coming hours or days “because we have lost a lot of time.”
His closest adviser is also a woman — presidency office director Nadia Akacha. She had been tipped as one of the likely candidates for prime minister before he tapped Bouden.
The president has said the new government should confront corruption and respond to the demands of Tunisians in all fields, including health, transport and education.
Women have only rarely held senior political roles in Arab countries.
But Saied’s actions raise questions over whether Bouden will be given the tools to govern in a nation facing a crisis in public finances after years of economic stagnation were aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic and political infighting.
The new government urgently needs financial support for the budget and debt repayments after Saied’s changes put talks with the International Monetary Fund on hold.
Bouden’s appointment lifted some spirits, despite the limitations she will face.
“We were waiting for this moment, and I imagine that any woman, not only in Tunisia, but in the world, and any woman in the free world, is waiting at a moment like this that a woman is appointed to this position,” said teacher Mouna Ben Sad.
“I just hope that she will do a good job and I hope that she will carry out a good program.”
Tunisia’s first woman prime minister raises spirits despite power grab
https://arab.news/5efwt
Tunisia’s first woman prime minister raises spirits despite power grab
- "I am optimistic about a woman being prime minister, so let's try it," said nurse Amina Ben Hammou
- President Kais Saied asked Najla Bouden, a little-known professor, to form a government quickly amid a political crisis
Katz orders West Bank raid after deadly attack in Israel
- Friday’s stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel triggered the minister’s action
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered the military to launch an operation in the village of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank after it emerged that a Palestinian who killed two people came from there.
The minister instructed the Israeli forces to “act forcefully and immediately against the village of Qabatiya, from which the murderous terrorist emerged, in order to locate and thwart every terrorist and strike the village’s terror infrastructure,” Katz’s office said in a statement.
“Anyone who aids terrorism or sponsors and backs it will pay the full price,” it added.
BACKGROUND
Friday’s attack comes just days after Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the Qabatiya area.
The military said in a separate statement that it was preparing to begin an operation in Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, which has seen repeated violent incidents.
Friday’s stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel triggered the minister’s action.
The assault came a day after an Israeli military reservist dressed in civilian clothes rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man in the West Bank, where violence has surged since the war in Gaza began.
“Preliminary investigation indicates this was a rolling terror attack that began in the city of Beit Shean, where a pedestrian was run over,” Israeli police said in a statement about Friday’s attack, adding that the victim was a 68-year-old man.
“Later, a young woman was stabbed near Road 71, and the suspect was ultimately engaged with gunfire near Maonot Junction in Afula following intervention by a civilian bystander,” it said, adding that the attacker was taken to hospital.
Both victims succumbed to the injuries, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said in a statement.
MDA also reported that a 16-year-old was slightly injured when “hit by a vehicle.
The Israeli military said the attacker had “infiltrated into Israeli territory several days ago.”
President Isaac Herzog condemned the attack.
Friday’s attack comes just days after Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the Qabatiya area.
The military has launched an investigation into the incident after footage emerged showing the teenager not posing any threat or throwing anything at soldiers who shot him.
The attack on Friday also came a day after an Israeli military reservist dressed in civilian clothes rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man in the
West Bank.
In videos on social media purporting to show that incident, the victim is seen praying by the roadside when the soldier rams him with his vehicle.
