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“I believe in the power of women. The seaweed farm is run by women, and women represent 80 to 90 percent of all staff in administration, the labs and research.”
For most people, the word ‘engineer’ doesn’t immediately bring up images of food, and even fewer will think of seaweed. And yet, that’s exactly the niche where Nadia Selmi is pioneering new uses for an oft-overlooked marine resource.
Today, she is the commercial director of SELT Marine, a Tunisian seaweed company that employs more than 100 women in producing nutritious seaweed powder that can be made into vegetable gelatin for dairy, sweets and vegan products
“I believe in the power of women,” says Nadia. “The seaweed farm is run by women, and women represent 80 to 90 percent of all staff in our administration, the labs and research.”
Many of the women working on the seaweed farm come from vulnerable rural communities and have found a new kind of job in the growing sector.
And the potential that the sector holds for food security and food system transformation is significant. Using just 0.03 percent of our oceans’ surface, seaweed could add up to 10 percent to the world’s food supply. Importantly, seaweed tends to be rich in vitamins and fibres and low in calories, making it a great addition to a healthy diet.
Beyond the food industry, seaweed powder is already used in many pharmaceutical and cosmetics products. And more recently, it is being transformed into biodegradable bottles and bags.
But that’s not the only way seaweed can contribute to a better environment.
Increasingly, scientists and policy makers are also seeing its potential as a “nature-based solution” to mitigate climate change and support ecosystem services. For example, if seaweed production keeps growing at the current rate, it could absorb 135 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2050, and 30 percent of all the nitrogen entering the oceans from land-based pollution.
Nadia, who started out as a researcher in the company’s lab, is now championing the uptake of Tunisian seaweed by building partnerships with businesses around the world and working with research institutions to get even more goodness out of the aquatic greens.
FAO supports innovators like Nadia through its General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, which promotes seaweed aquaculture as a way to boost sustainable growth, marine conservation, and livelihoods in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
The CREDIF (Center for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women) issued Thursday 1st digital medium “Tunisian Women in figures 2024”, a scientific document, based on collecting statistical data from various public institutions and national professional bodies.
In the health field, this booklet indicates that women represent 51% of the total number of physicians in Tunisia. As of February 15, 2025, there were 13,197 women doctors, 6,895 of which are registered in the “General Medicine” branch.
“Tunisian women in Figures 2024”, includes various and diversified data, varying from those demographics, including questions relating to the experience of women and their difficulties, in terms of violence, health and unemployment and their accomplishments in terms of ‘Medical assistance, teaching and positions occupied in education and education.
It constitutes one of the updated references, to be consulted by both researchers and civil society members and administrators and experts, which can equip them, and help them study certain phenomena and possibly in decision-making.
Multiple area and national records broken in men’s 10,000m event at World Athletics U20 Championships 2024.
Rayen Cherni set a championship record in the men’s 10,000m race walk to win the first ever gold medal for Tunisia at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2024, while China’s Baima Zhuoma dominated the women’s race during the final morning session of action in Lima on Friday.
In a hard-fought men’s race, the top 17 all set area or national U20 records, or achieved PBs, with Cherni winning in an African U20 record of 39:24.85, Mexico’s Emiliano Barba securing silver in a North and Central American U20 record of 39:27.10 and Italy’s Giuseppe Disabato gaining bronze in a national U20 record of 39:31.25.
Australia’s Isaac Beacroft, who won the U20 title on the roads at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya in April, finished fourth on the track in Lima, setting an Oceanian U20 record of 39:36.39, while Japan’s Sohtaroh Osaka finished fifth in a PB of 39:39.36.
It was Germany’s Frederick Weigel who had taken the early lead, but Osaka, Beacroft and Kenya’s Stephen Ndangiri Kihu took control by the halfway point, passed in 20:05.03.
As the pace gradually picked up, the lead pack whittled down, and Barba, Disabato and Cherni made their break. Six athletes remained in contention with four laps to go and eventually 17-year-old Cherni left his rivals behind to win by more than two seconds.
China’s Baima Zhuoma claims gold with personal best in women’s 10,000m race walk at World Athletics U20 Championships 2024
In the women’s race, Baima looked calm and in control throughout. The field quickly spaced out and the 19-year-old, who claimed Asian U20 silver in April, was well clear as she passed the 5000m mark in 21:47.33.
She was followed by India’s Aarti and her Chinese teammate Chen Meiling, last year’s Asian U20 champion, with Romania’s 17-year-old Alessia Cristina Pop, the European U18 silver medallist, looking determined behind them.
While Baima was never under threat, Aarti seemed to be moving away from Chen, but with two red cards Aarti had to be cautious and Chen made her move, passing her rival with three and a half laps to go.
Baima maintained her lead to cruise to victory in a world U20 lead and big PB of 43:26.60, as Chen held on for silver to complete a 1-2 for China in a PB of 44:30.67. Aarti claimed bronze in an Indian U20 record of 44:39.39, while Pop also set a national U20 record of 44:54.32 in fourth. Similar to the men’s race, the top 16 all set national records or PBs.
Winner of the Best Music Award (for the Under the Figs film) in the 2023 “Critic Awards” section (on the fringes of the 76th Cannes Film Feestival) , French-Tunisian film music composer Amine Bouhafa was chosen as a member of the “Competition Jury” for season 7 of the Cannes International Festival of Series (CANNESERIES), held on April 5-10.
The Competition Jury is also made up of Sophie Grabol, Olivier Abbou, Alice Braga, Macarena Gracia and Alix Poisson.
CANNESERIES has been celebrating series from all over the world for 7 years and brings together those who make and love them in the mythical setting of the city of Cannes and its magical Palais des Festivals. Carried by a team of enthusiasts, the festival acts as a platform, and is completely free and open to all.
Tunisian poet Abdelaziz Hammami’s words resonated through the prestigious Sharjah Arab Poetry Festival, earning him the coveted Al Qawafi award. Held from January 8th to 14th in the UAE, the festival witnessed a celebration of Arabic poetry from across the region.
Hammami, already a seasoned voice in the poetry world with works published in various newspapers and magazines, stood out amongst the diverse talent. This is reported by TAP, a partner of TV BRICS.
Hammami’s journey with poetry began in his hometown of Kairouan, where he played a pivotal role in establishing the city’s first literary club in the late 1960s. His passion for the craft extended beyond writing, as he also served as a correspondent for the TAP news agency and collaborated with national radio and Tunisian television. This win at the Sharjah festival marks a crowning achievement for a poet who has dedicated his life to the beauty of language.
Hammami is not the only Tunisian celebrating at the festival. His compatriot, Moncef Ouhaibi, had earlier bagged the “Sharjah Prize for Poetic Criticism.” This double triumph signifies a potent resurgence of Tunisian poetry on the international stage.
With 12 awards bestowed upon deserving poets and critics from across the Arab world, the 20th Sharjah Arab Poetry Festival reaffirmed its position as a beacon for literary excellence. Hammami’s victory, in particular, underscores the enduring power of poetry to transcend borders and touch hearts.
Tunisian film Four Daughters (Les filles d’Olfa) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, becoming the director’s second nomination for the Academy Awards.
Ben Hania’s 2020 feature film The Man Who Sold His Skin was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars in 2021.
Written and directed by Ben Hania, the film Four Daughters, nominated for Best Documentary Feature, focuses on a woman’s search for truth as she gets tangled in a web of lies in her family history. As a daughter and filmmaker, Ben Hania fuses personal and national history as she reflects on the 1981 Bread Riots, drawing connections to modern Morocco.
The film follows Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. To replace them, the filmmaker Ben Hania invites professional actresses and invents a unique cinema experience which would lift the veil on Olfa and her daughters’ life stories.
The film blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction and between being on-screen and off-screen.
The film has received critical acclaim, winning the Golden Eye award at the Cannes Film Festival, the Best International Film at the Munich Film Festival, and the Jury Award at the International Competition of the Brussels Film Festival. Most recently, it won the Asharq Award for Best Documentary at the Red Sea International Film Festival.
Mohamed Ghassen Nouira, a history-obsessed Tunisian, revives in his garden an antiquated craft that was once considered a sign of riches in the ancient world: making purple dye from sea snail shells.
A while back, while taking a leisurely walk along the beach in Carthage, a suburb of Tunis in northern Tunisia, Nouira stumbled upon a murex shell. This discovery evoked memories of his history classes and sparked a desire to recreate the ancient dye.
The historical importance of Tyrian purple cannot be overstated. This color, also known as Tyrian purple, was highly coveted in ancient times and reserved exclusively for the aristocracy. The Phoenicians, who originated in what is now Lebanon, had a thriving trade in Tyrian purple, which was essential to the development of their trading empire. They did this by establishing colonies all across the Mediterranean, notably Carthage, which later became an autonomous empire and ruled the western Mediterranean for centuries.
Today, Carthage exists as a suburb of Tunis, where the ancient Punic civilization’s remains may still be seen along the city’s hillsides, and the ancient Punic harbor still has its original shape after a thousand years.
Murex shells from that time, when Carthage and its trade routes changed the Mediterranean region, are scattered over its shores. The method for obtaining Tyrian purple from murex shells was lost throughout the years, but Nouira set out on a mission to revive the lost art.
Nouira dedicated 14 years of his life to unraveling the production process of Tyrian purple. At first faced with doubt and criticism for his unconventional hobby, he remained steadfast in his pursuit. His detractors eventually turned into admirers when observable results started to surface, giving him encouragement that strengthened his resolve.
He buys murex fillets from a nearby fisherman, removes the glands, grinds the shells, then ferments and cooks them. He follows meticulous procedures and succeeds in creating a little amount of purple powder. The magnitude of the operation is enormous—54 kilograms of murex shells are needed to produce only one gram of Tyrian purple. Production of dye is economically feasible given the volume needed. But the purple powder he painstakingly creates now sells for a hefty price of around $2,500 per gram. Its allure stems from both its rarity and authenticity, which connects the present with a time of wealth and grandeur.
Ines Zaidi, Professor of Immunology at the Higher Institute of Medical Technologies at the University of Tunis El Manar, received the science and technology award of the Francophone University Agency during her participation in the ninth edition of the Francophone Award for Young Researchers.
Dr. Inas, a specialist in blood cell biology, excelled in the competition which included 113 candidates from different continents, such as America, Asia and Africa.
Thanks to her immensely advanced research, which demonstrates intelligence, scientific and cognitive abilities. The scholar’s work has also been published in more than 40 international medical articles, which have provided many additions to humanity, health and medicine in general. Zaidi has been awarded the Sadiq Bessour scientific prize for research excellence in 2017, supported by the Sadiq Foundation in collaboration with the University of Montreal and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research in Tunisia.
Regarding the nature and importance of Ines Zaidi’s research, the piece of work highlights the inclusion and regulation of HASH-1 molecules in public health diseases, as an added value in the follow-up of pathological conditions, as well as in proposing new therapeutic strategies.
Only three other researchers in the world received the Francophone award from universities in Canada and Morocco, making them 4 international researchers with scientific recognition and utterly significant achievements.
During the Nazi occupation of Tunisia, numerous Jewish families were saved in the town of Mahdia by Khaled Abdul Wahab, nicknamed the Tunisian Schindler.
tTunisian man Khaled Abdul Wahab has received a historic nomination as the first Arab to be considered for the title of “Righteous Among the Nations.” This accolade is traditionally reserved for non-Jewish individuals who displayed valor in their efforts to rescue Jews from the persecution imposed by the Nazi regime.
The impetus for this nomination comes from Robert Satloff, the Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an American think tank. Satloff’s quest led him to the story of Khaled Abdul Wahab, scion of an aristocratic lineage. At the age of 32, he witnessed the arrival of German troops in Tunisia in November 1942. At that time, Tunisia was home to a Jewish population numbering around 100,000.
Before World War II, Tunisia was a French protectorate. As Nazi Germany expanded and occupied France, the country fell under German sway. Consequently, the Jewish community of Tunisia became threatened due to Nazi Germany’s antisemitic policies. Some Tunisians took it upon themselves to protect their Jewish neighbors, and Khaled Abdul Wahab was one of them.
“Some people find it difficult to accept the idea that Arabs may have assisted Jews,” said Satloff. “It would demonstrate to some Arabs that they were willing to help their Jewish neighbors.”
An intermediary and protector
Due to his German speaking skills, he played a pivotal role as an intermediary between the residents of the coastal town of Mahdia and the occupying German forces, facilitating communication and acting as a protector.
One particularly noteworthy episode revolves around his timely intervention upon learning of the sinister intentions of German officers towards Odette Boukhris, a local Jewish woman. Abdul Wahab promptly gathered her family and several other Jewish families from Mahdia, totaling approximately two dozen individuals, and relocated them to the safety of his rural estate outside the town. He provided them sanctuary for an unbroken duration of four months.
He has been likened to a Tunisian Schindler for imperiling his own life to provide sanctuary to Jews amidst the Nazi stranglehold on Tunisia. Satloff believes the Tunisian man represents “a very powerful symbol from a historical point of view.”
Despite these commendable actions, the formal recognition of the man as “Righteous Among the Nations” hinges on approval by the Yad Vashem commission responsible for bestowing this distinction. It’s worth noting that Yad Vashem has bestowed this status upon approximately 21,700 individuals since the conclusion of World War II, with around 60 Muslims from the Balkans among the recipients as well as the German-Egyptian doctor Mohammed Helmy.
By calling for women’s education and freedom, Saida Manoubia was truly a feminist ahead of her time.
Her shrine, located in the governorate of Manouba, west of Tunis, is a historical and cultural landmark of the city. It’s a gathering spot for locals and a venue for musical events. Visitors partake in the eating, conversing, and singing of folk songs praising and singing the saint’s virtues.
When I got inside, I was advised to talk to Aunt Zaziya, an elderly woman who resides in one of the building’s rooms. A long line of people had formed outside her door. I stepped in and sat down while she was having lunch in a small room surrounded by a few bags of gifts from the visitors a short time later.
People bring Aunt Zaziya treats to give away to visitors, as well as meat to cook and eat there, and she sends them away with Lella Saida’s blessings. She told me stories about couples who were able to conceive after years of unsuccessful attempts and women who married at a very advanced age thanks to the saint’s blessings. Aunt Zaziya, on the other hand, refused to continue the conversation when I told her I wanted to learn more about this renowned and revered woman.
I had the opportunity to speak with some of the women present and hear their stories. Amira, 25, described her visits to the shrine as providing her with “interior comfort.” But she didn’t know anything about Lella Saida’s background, her life story, or Sufism in general. Saida Manoubiya was described as a “smart and nice woman who assisted the underprivileged” by other regular visitors. However, the specifics of what made her such a wonderful woman were not widely known.
This lack of understanding runs against to Saida Manoubiya’s own beliefs, as well as how she lived her life and why she is regarded as one of Tunisia’s greatest women.
Education in a Patriarchal Society
Aicha, who grew up in Tunis during the Hafsid reign in the 13th century, possessed outstanding intelligence and intuition. Her father was a religious figure, an Imam or a Quran instructor. In his relationship with Aicha, it’s worth noting that he encouraged her education by teaching her Arabic (her native tongue is Amazigh) and the Quran.
It was evident that Aicha was different; she was a free spirit who refused to conform to the limits put on women at the period, something the villagers did not appreciate. Her behavior was viewed as unconventional or liberal, to the extent where her father was frequently chastised for her conduct.
When Aicha was told she would be married to a relative, she refused and decided to leave, an option that is still frowned upon now in Tunisia, let alone in the 1200s. Aicha was seeking freedom, financial independence, and education when she left Manouba for Tunis and sacrificed her family life. She was leaving behind the confines of a loveless marriage and traditional social constraints, as well as the confines of a loveless marriage and traditional social constraints.
According to historian Abdel Jalil Bouguerra, education was only available to specific women during that time: foreigners from the Mashreq, Al-Andalus, or the ruling family’s elite women. Aicha, on the other hand, was neither of these things.
She began knitting and spinning wool to support herself after settling in Montfleury, and she quickly became a disciple of Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, one of the most renowned religious personalities of his time, who was immersed in the Sufi school of Ibn Arabi al-Andalusi. Women and men are equal, according to Ibn Arabi, a controversial yet prominent person in Islamic history. It’s no wonder that Aicha picked this Sufi order as her educational path because he wrote extensively about the different female teachers who molded his spiritual knowledge.
Aicha continued to break social conventions at the time. She studied the Quran and attempted to analyze it attentively in order to comprehend its contents, opting for inquiry as a way to religion. She would leave her house without a male companion and go out to preach and debate with men. Some Sheikhs are said to have called for her stoning as a result of this.
She, on the other hand, worked hard in class, passed multiple exams, and swiftly advanced from student to teacher. Sufi intellectuals and kings were drawn to her arguments with her mentor, al-Shadhili. Continuing her schooling at that time is a remarkable achievement in and of itself. But pursuing and teaching Islamic studies and religion, a field dominated largely by men, is even more impressive.
Prominence & Influence
Aicha rose to prominence as a significant religious person in Tunisia, with connections to the most powerful religious groups. In Sufi societies, accompanying her master to various prayer spots on top of mountains and hills is considered a luxury. She then got close to prince Abou Mouhamad Abdel Wahed and Sultan Abou Zakariyah, and she received access to prayer sites formerly only open to men, such as Mousalla Al-Idayn, erected by Abi Zakariya in 1229.
Aicha’s fluent style and advanced language skills, which were once exclusively expected of prominent male intellectuals, as she preached at the Mosque of Safsafa (the area is now the shrine of Abdallah Chrif), astounded and amazed people.
Aicha was a philanthropist who lived off her earnings and gave the remainder to the underprivileged, especially women, in addition to her scholastic and religious qualities. There is also evidence that she purchased some Tunisian slaves who were being shipped to Italy only to free them six centuries before slavery was abolished in Tunisia in 1846.
In an official ceremony, Al-Shadhili gave Aicha his cloak, ring, and the title of Qutb, and referred to her as a “Imam of men” as he was leaving Tunisia. In Sufism, the highest spiritual position is Qutb (literally “pole”), and Aicha was a pole of knowledge and religion during her lifetime and beyond.
Her spirituality and deeds influenced people’s lives in such a way that she was elevated to the status of a Saint, and her life was surrounded by supernatural and divine legends known in Sunni Islam as “Karamat.” Her father once gave her a bull for agricultural purposes, but she instead gave it all to the impoverished, requesting them to return the bones. The bull came back to life once the bones were retrieved.
What is certain about her life is that she was a strong, independent woman who was able to break free from social constraints and establish herself as an equal and intellectual superior to males of her time. Saida Manoubiya was a feminist ahead of her time, advocating for women’s education and freedom.
