Basma Khalfaoui Explained

Basma Khalfaoui (Arabic: بسمة خلفاوي; born 20 August 1970 in El Kef),[1] is a Tunisian lawyer, political activist and long-time advocate for the women's movement who rose to national prominence following the assassination of her husband Chokri Belaid in 2013.[2]

Early life

Basma Khalfaoui was one of six children born to a father who died when she was very young and an uneducated mother who raised the family alone with very modest means. After finishing school at the in Tunis she studied law at university. Here she became an activist in the and joined the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women in 1995.[1] [3] At university she met Chokri Belaid in 1999, with whom she went to Paris for postgraduate studies. The couple married in Paris in 2002 before returning to Tunisia and beginning their careers as lawyers. She practised civil and property law.

Campaign for justice

On 6 February 2013 her husband was assassinated by Salafist extremists in front of their home in Tunis.[4] [5] Khalfaoui broke with tradition by walking at the head of his funeral cortège, and was criticised for doing so by the Minister of Religious Affairs, Nouredine Khadmi.[6] [7] Identifying his killers, bringing them to justice, and exposing the alleged political cover-up which has protected them has been the main purpose of her work since that date.[8] [9] [10]

In 2017 Khalfaoui described her husband's murder as a ‘state crime’.[11] In 2018 her office was broken into and documents relating to her husband's case were damaged.[12] Later she publicly called for the dissolution of the Ennahda Party, which she accused of trafficking weapons into Tunisia.[13]

Politics

She had long disclaimed any political ambition and had refused to stand in the 2014 Tunisian parliamentary election, despite having joined in 2012 the Watad Party where her late husband had been Secretary General.[14] [15] Nevertheless, on 21 April 2019 she announced her intention to stand in the forthcoming elections to the Tunisian Assembly.[16] She was placed in the top-ranking position on the electoral list of the Social Democratic Union in the Tunis 1 constituency, where she ran against Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Ennahda Party, but was not elected.[17] [18]

Family

Basma Khalfaoui has two daughters by Chokri Belaid, named Nayrouz and Nada.[19] Early in 2022 Khalfaoui announced that she had left Tunisia because of the verbal harassment and physical threats that she had been receiving.[20]

Notes and References

  1. News: Dahmani . Frida . Basma Khalfaoui, une icône tunisienne est née . 22 April 2019 . Jeune Afrique . 5 March 2013.
  2. News: Levitin . Michael . Exclusive: Interview With The Widow of Tunisia's Slain Popular Leader . 22 April 2019 . occupy.com . 3 April 2013.
  3. Book: Sgrena . Giuliana . Rivoluzioni violate . 2014 . Il Saggiatore . Milan . 9788865763629 . 4 April 2023.
  4. Four Radicals Held over Belaid's Murder. The Majalla. 27 February 2013. 7 March 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130721020626/http://www.majalla.com/eng/2013/02/article55238757. 21 July 2013. dmy-all.
  5. News: Tunisia opposition figures 'shot by same gun'. 26 July 2013. Al Jazeera English. 26 July 2013.
  6. Book: Olimat . Muhamad . Arab Spring and Arab Women . 2013 . Taylor and Francis . London . 9781317937371 . 4 April 2023.
  7. Book: Hasso . Frances . Salime . Zakia . Freedom Without Permission Bodies and Space in the Arab Revolutions . 2016 . Duke University Press . Durham, NC . 9780822373728 . 4 April 2023.
  8. News: Basma Khalfaoui chez BCE . 22 April 2019 . Realities.com.tn . 4 December 2018.
  9. News: Basma Khalfaoui : 4 ans sans que la vérité ne soit dévoilée, c'est trop ! . 22 April 2019 . Business News . 6 February 2017.
  10. News: Basma Khalfaoui menace de faire un sit-in avec ses deux filles devant le MI . 22 April 2019 . L'Economiste Maghrébin . 26 May 2015 . 22 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190422044237/https://www.leconomistemaghrebin.com/2015/05/26/basma-khalafaoui-menace-de-faire-un-sit-avec-ses-deux-filles-devant-le-mi/ . dead .
  11. News: Family of slain Tunisian politician demands 'truth'. . 22 April 2019 . The Daily Star . 2 February 2017.
  12. News: Des inconnus saccagent le bureau Basma khalfaoui . 22 April 2019 . mosaiquefm.net . 21 September 2018.
  13. News: Basma Khalfaoui appelle à la dissolution du mouvement Ennahdha . 22 April 2019 . Espacemanager.com . 6 October 2018.
  14. News: Dahmani . Frida . Tunisie : Basma Khalfaoui, à la mémoire de Chokri Belaïd . 22 April 2019 . Jeune Afrique . 20 January 2015.
  15. Web site: Conferència de Basma Khalfaoui, activista de drets humans a Tunísia i vídua de l'opositor polític assassinat Shokri Belaid . Iemed.org . Institut Europeu de la Mediterrania . 22 April 2019 . 22 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190422072017/https://www.iemed.org/sala-de-premsa/notes-de-premsa/conferencia-de-basma-khalfaoui-activista-de-drets-humans-a-tunisia-i-vidua-de-l2019opositor-politic-assassinat-shokri-belaid . dead .
  16. News: Basma Khalfaoui : Je me présenterai aux législatives . 22 April 2019 . Business News . 21 April 2019.
  17. Web site: M . L . Tunisie – Besma Bélaïd concurrente de Ghannouchi à Tunis 1 à la tête de la liste de l'Union Démocratique et Sociale . tunisienumerique.com . tunisienumerique.com . 24 July 2019.
  18. News: Khedir . Mabrouka . Élections législatives en Tunisie, focus sur le duel entre Rached Ghannouchi et Basma Khalfaoui . 21 December 2022 . TV5 Monde . 4 October 2019.
  19. News: Auffrey . Elodie . Basma Khalfaoui, Veuve en Guerre . 22 April 2019 . Liberation . 14 March 2013.
  20. News: Basma Belaïd ne sera pas présente lors de la manifestation du 6 février . 21 December 2022 . Business News . 5 February 2022.

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