“Empowerment of women in the Mediterranean: Tunisian vision” was the theme of a conference held Wednesday in Djerba, as part of the 32nd session of the General Meeting of the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN). The conference, which was attended by representatives of 15 Mediterranean news agencies, was led by experts and women’s rights advocates. They were unanimous in stressing that the empowerment of women is a fundamental right that can only be achieved through the defence of women’s rights and the fight against all forms of violence against women. Director General of the Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women (Crédif), Thouraya Belkahia, presented the centre’s work in the field of women’s political, economic and social empowerment. She reviewed a series of activities, including studies, support campaigns and training sessions, organised by the centre in the field of women’s economic empowerment. These activities are aimed at providing recommendations to the relevant ministry, she added. For her part, Amel Grami, a university professor, stressed that empowerment consists in enabling women to acquire skills that will allow them to leave a precarious situation and assert themselves in society. She added that the concept of empowerment, which emerged in the 1960s, is a process by which a person or a community is freed from a state of subjection, acquires the capacity to use the fullness of his or her rights, and is freed from a social, moral or intellectual dependence. A round table was organised in the framework of this conference, with the participation of journalists from different news agencies and experts active in the field of women’s empowerment. The speakers discussed different aspects of women’s empowerment including the journalism sector. Several concepts related to empowerment were explained during this debate between speakers and participants, including humanitarian communication, networking and its role in empowering women journalists. Tunisia will take over the presidency of this Mediterranean Alliance at the end of the session which will end on May 26.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse