Maya Jribi (January 29, 1960 – May 19, 2018) was a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n politician. From 2006 to 2012, she was the leader of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). From PDP's merger into the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in April 2012, until her resignation in 2017, she was the Secretary-General of the centrist party.

Life and political career

Her father is from

Tatouine Tataouine ( ber, Tiṭṭawin; ar, تطاوين) is a city in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below-ground "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the ...

, while her mother is from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. She followed her studies in Radès Tunisia, before studying biology at the

University of Sfax The University of Sfax (Arabic: جامعة صفاقس French: Université de Sfax) is a university located in Sfax, Tunisia. It was founded in 1986 under the name University of the South with the purpose of covering all academic institutions in So ...

, from 1979 to 1983. During that period, she became involved and an active member of the student union, known as UGET, and the Tunisian League of Human Rights. She wrote for the independent weekly Erraï and later for the PDP-newspaper Al Mawkif. Together with

Ahmed Najib Chebbi Ahmed Najib Chebbi ( ar, أحمد نجيب الشابي, french: Ahmed Néjib Chebbi) or simply Najib Chebbi (born 30 July 1944) is a Tunisian attorney and politician. Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he ...

, Maya Jribi co-founded the ''Progressive Socialist Rally'', established in 1983, which was later renamed into Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). Since 1986 she has been a member of the party's executive. On 25 December 2006, Jribi was appointed Secretary-General of the PDP. She has been the first woman to lead a political party in Tunisia. From 1 to 20 October 2007, Jribi, along with Najib Chebbi, engaged in a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

to protest against the forced move of the party's headquarters from Tunis, which caused serious health implications for her. Jribi headed the PDP's electoral list in

Ben Arous Ben Arous ( aeb, بن عروس ') is a city in north-eastern Tunisia, part the agglomeration of Tunis, also called "Grand Tunis". It is located south of Tunis city center and is the capital of the Ben Arous Governorate. Information about Ben Ar ...

for the Constituent Assembly Elections in October 2011. The PDP list received one seat in Ben Arous according to preliminary election results. On 9 April 2012, the PDP merged with other secularist parties to form the

and Maya Jribi became the leader of this party. She presented her candidacy for the presidency of the

Constituent Assembly of Tunisia The Constituent Assembly of Tunisia, or National Constituent Assembly (NCA) was the body in charge of devising a new Tunisian constitution for the era after the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his Constitutional Democratic Rally (R ...

on November 22. She was however defeated by the secretary general of

Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties The Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties ( ar, التكتل الديمقراطي من أجل العمل والحريات, ' ; french: link=no, Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés), also referred to as Ettakatol or by its Fre ...

( Ettakatol),

Mustapha Ben Jaafar Mustapha Ben Jafar ( ar, مصطفى بن جعفر) (born 8 December 1940) is a Tunisian politician and medical doctor who was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia from November 2011 to December 2014. He founded and has led the Democratic ...

who was elected by 145 votes to 68 in his favor. Maya Jribi was an outspoken

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. She has labeled

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

as a "Zionist construct", and proposed to disallow Israeli pilgrims to visit the El Ghriba synagogue on

Djerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...

island. Maya Jribi, announced her retirement, during the Republican Party convention in 2017. In March 2018, the Center for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women paid tribute to her for her noble political life. On 19th May 2018 she died of cancer. The

President of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Tunisian Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية التونسية), is the head of state of Tunisia. Tunisia is a presidential republic, whereby the president is the head of state an ...

, in an official statement, called her death the loss of a "sincere activist" and saluted her human qualities and political career.

Decorations

* Commander of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia (2015) * Knight of National Order of Merit of Tunisia (2014)

Tributes

In March 2018, the Center for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women paid tribute to her for her militant political career. the President of the Tunisian Republic deplored, in an official press release, the loss of a “Sincere activist” and saluted her human qualities and her political career. On May 21, the Ministry of Women's Affairs announced that the main hall meetings at the ministry's headquarters now bear the name of Maya Jribi. La salle des réunions du ministère de la Femme portera le nom de Maya Jeribi
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References

External links

* 1960 births 2018 deaths People from Siliana Governorate Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia) politicians Tunisian human rights activists Tunisian feminists Tunisian people of Algerian descent Members of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia 21st-century Tunisian women politicians 21st-century Tunisian politicians {{Tunisia-politician-stub