Four women, one seat. So far, the 2014 mayoral election in Paris is a single-sex contest. The two biggest parties have chosen their candidates: Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, of the center-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), and Anne Hidalgo of the Parti Socialiste (PS). Two other women are also widely expected to fight for the mayor […]
Author: Hajer Naili
Face-Veil Ban Sparks French Riots
The debate on the ban of face veils in public places in France has intensified since July 18, when police in the Paris suburb of Trappes arrested a man in connection with authorities’ efforts to check the identity of his veiled wife, triggering at least two nights of youth rioting and confrontations with police. The […]
France Has Three Women Candidates—But The Election Largely Ignores Women’s Issues
Women account for 53 percent of French voters but there’s little to suggest they will pack their punch behind any single candidate in the first election since the sex-harassment scandal that dashed the presidential hopes of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan. On April 22, French voters will choose among 10 presidential candidates, three of whom […]
Will Tunisian Islamists Strip Women of Their Rights?
I have personal reasons for caring about what happens next in Tunisia. I was born in 1985 in France to Tunisian parents. That meant I grew up in an adopted country where women’s legal rights were even more firmly established than in my parent’s homeland. I didn’t face restrictions, so I gave women’s rights very […]