Interviews with Sarah Ben Behia

My non-profit started as a simple idea. It was created the fifteenth of January, right – one day after the [Jasmine] Revolution. After the fourteenth of January, though the president – former president – ran away. So the fifteenth of January [2011], the non-profit was created – the GID Association [Gens Independantes Démocrates or Youth Independent Democrats] was created. And the idea behind that is that people were very happy they got their freedom. They were allowed for the first time in their life to speak. And they were eager to participate, they were eager to take part, they were eager to participate in the decision-making process, but they didn’t know how. They didn’t understand what was happening – yes, we know that our president ran away, but they didn’t know what was coming next. Okay. What – it was like, we didn’t have a government, we didn’t have a president, we were in the street, so what to do next?

And we got a lot of – I mean, many circumstances may also justify the creation of a similar project, is that after the revolution as people were eager to participate, as I said, we witnessed the creation of many political parties, like over 150 political parties in the same time. In like, two months. A lot of associations and non-profits were created because people, as I said, wanted to participate. And we knew that we had to elect a temporary government, and we knew that we have to draft a constitution, but few of us knew what is coming next. Many people did not. They didn’t even distinguish the difference between the different ideologies. I mean, as if I was talking to an [American] citizen, and he didn’t know the difference between Democrats and Republicans, for example. So I had to deal with people who didn’t even know the meaning, or the definition, of a political party.

The definition of a government. What is coming next, as I said. So people like me who are familiar with these concepts, we wanted to help people to understand just that. So we started as a group of people – of students – young people, and we wanted to help people to understand, so we kept writing articles to explain the events happening in simple way. Because one of the mistakes made by people in high positions, or politicians, is that they kept coming on TV shows and talking to people using language they didn’t understand. So people were asking a lot of questions, and they needed to understand. So we needed to help them.

We kept writing articles in simple language, we kept reading all the newspapers and just did this [review] of the most important events so that people could be updated, and it started like that and it got bigger, day after day, until we had our elections. We had to vote for one president, and for some representatives among, as I said, 150 political parties – even more. Where I had people coming to me and saying, “I want to go to vote. I want to elect, but I don’t know who to choose, or whom to vote for.” So we thought to create this platform – it is a virtual platform called Ikthiar – and Ikthiar in Arabic means, “choice.”

So we invited people – I mean, professional people – politicians – from Germany, from France, and from Tunisia also, we have really good, good people. And we gathered them, and we tried to work on those 30 particular questions. Thirty questions because we needed just few questions, and they were really simple, but reflecting the ideologies or the tendencies of the people. I mean, I may ask you, like, “Do you want education to be private or public?” You may answer by saying, “Private,” or “Public,” one of them – but you don’t know that it is reflecting an ideology of – your ideology or your tendency.

So we worked on those 30 questions – particular questions – dealing with economic fields, cultural field, human rights, law, education – every single field. And we gave those questions to every political leader of all the political parties, and we got their answers on – about those questions – and we put all those answers in a database, and opened this platform to visitors, so anyone who’d go to visit the platform and answer those questions will get, at the end, a matching percentage showing which political party fit best with your answers so that you can know which political party suits you the most.

Sarah Ben Behia is a Tunisian freedom activist.

Her passion for public service and volunteerism has landed her a position as a respected activist within the ranks of the civil society world. She has become an active member within the JID association (Youth Independent Democrats) and has been elected a member of the executive committee. During her involvement with the organization, Sarah has participated in several projects aimed at raising awareness among Tunisian citizens and helping the community to maintain the gains of the Tunisian Revolution.

Sarah believes that by promoting internationally recognized human rights, Tunisia can continue to make advances toward becoming a democratic society. Sarah’s projects were designed to establish fair and honest elections, encouraging the involvement of Tunisian youth in the decision-making process, as well as empowering women and their status in society.

Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree in Legal, Political and Social Sciences and recently obtained her Master’s degree in Common Law. She is also a member of the George W. Bush Institute’s 2014 Women’s Initiative Fellowship, a leadership program designed to empower and equip women to catalyze change.

Sarah continues to devote her time and energy to make a significant contribution to the development and the empowerment of her country and community.

Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coastline. It has a population of fewer than 11 million people and is the smallest nation in North Africa in land area. In 2010 and 2011, it became the first of the Arab countries to revolt against decades of dictatorial rule, launching the Arab Spring and a wave of change across the region. Tunisia has a developing economy, focused largely on agriculture, tourism, and light industry.

Tunisia has been settled since ancient times. In the 10th century B.C., it was part of the Phoenician Empire. The city of Carthage, near the modern capital of Tunis, was established in the 9th century B.C. In 149 B.C., the Roman Empire conquered the Phoenicians. Islam was introduced to what is now Tunisia in the 7th century A.D., and the area formed part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. In 1881, Tunisia became a protectorate of France. A strong French cultural element continues to this day.

In 1956, Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence from France. His political party, later known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally, went on to dominate Tunisian politics for more than 50 years. Bourguiba’s Tunisia was a largely secular state and was viewed as one of the most progressive in the Arab world on women’s issues. In 1987, Bourguiba was replaced in a “bloodless coup” by his prime minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali continued many of Bourguiba’s policies, but ruled with an increasingly heavy hand. The Ben Ali regime was repressive and corrupt, with a dismal human rights record. The regime showed little tolerance for dissent, and lashed out at opposition voices in politics, civil society, and the media.

The Tunisian Revolution began in December 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, set himself on fire in protest over harassment by a local official. Bouazizi’s act led to mass demonstrations across the country, protesting the lack of human rights, poor economic conditions, and corruption and nepotism in the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali stepped down and fled the country. On October 23, 2011, Tunisia held its first free elections, forming a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and lead the country to general elections. The role of religion in society is among the most important issues facing the assembly and country.

Under the interim Constituent Assembly, Tunisia has experienced considerable political upheaval, but has begun to consolidate its democracy. There is a major fault line between Islamist and secular political forces. In 2013, several political assassinations resulted in widespread protests and demonstrators calling for the nation’s Islamist-led government to be removed. In January of 2014, after two years of debate, the Constituent Assembly ratified the nation’s new constitution. The constitution is considered progressive for the nation and has many human rights guarantees. With the ratification of the constitution, elections are scheduled for autumn 2014.

Freedom House’s 2013 Freedom in the World report categorized Tunisia as “partly free”. The nation received the following ratings on a scale with one being the most free and seven being the least: 3.5 as an overall freedom rating, a four in civil liberties and a three in political rights. Tunisia’s Internet and press were also categorized as “partly free” in subsequent Freedom House reports.