Nabiha Ben Miled ( ar, نبيــهة بــن ميلاد, 4 March 1919-6 May 2009) was a pioneering Tunisian women's rights activist and nationalist. She was a leading voice in the press speaking for women's rights and Tunisian independence from

French colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

. She served as president of the

Union of Tunisian Women The National Union of Tunisian Women (Arabic: الاتحاد الوطني للمراة التونسية; French: Union Nationale de la Femme Tunisienne, UNFT) is a non-governmental organization in Tunisia founded in 1956. The current UNFT president ...

from 1952 to 1963 and wrote articles in favor of Tunisia's independence.

Early life

Nabiha Ben Abdallah was born on 4 March 1919 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

to Baya Bint Mahjoub and Othman Bin Abdallah. Her parents were part of the Tunisian bourgeoisie, and their ancestors had settled in Tunis in the nineteenth century. She attended Sidi Saber Primary School and had aspirations to become a teacher or a lawyer, but her father discouraged her from further studies after she graduated from primary school. At the age of fifteen, she married the doctor , who had been educated in France and was a leader in the Tunisian Communist Movement. Though her mother had insisted that she wear her hijab as a child, her husband encouraged Miled to live without being veiled.

Activism

With the encouragement of her husband, in 1936, Miled joined the (MWUT) led by

Bchira Ben Mrad Bchira Ben Mrad (بشيرة بن مراد ;1993–1913) was a Tunisian women's rights activist. She founded and chaired the Muslim Union of Tunisian Women (UMFT) from 1936 to 1956. Biography She was born into an old Tunisian family of religious s ...

. Initially formed to support the education of girls, by 1938, they had extended their aims to providing assistance to political prisoners and those involved in the independence movement seeking an end to the French colonial administration. When demonstrators were injured during a protest on 9 April 1938, Dr. Miled turned their home into a hospital, and Nabiha assisted him, providing nursing services for those injured by colonizer forces. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she gave birth to the couple's only daughter, Khadija, during a severe famine. She and her husband provided boxed milk to neighbors in their Halfaouine neighborhood, and she organized a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

. Using contacts with local merchants, Miled led the women of her neighborhood to make two hundred meals each day from products donated by local merchants. In 1944, Miled left the MWUT, disillusioned by the lack of action of the group and its reliance on the political party

Destour The Constitutional Liberal Party ( ar, الحزب الحر الدستوري, '), most commonly known as Destour, was a Tunisian political party, founded in 1920, which had as its goal to liberate Tunisia from French colonial control. History ...

. She joined the Tunisian Women's Union (TWU) ( ar, الاتحـاد النسـائـي التونسـي), which was affiliated with the

Tunisian Communist Party The Tunisian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي التونسي ' ; french: Parti Communiste Tunisien) was a Marxist political party in Tunisia. The PCT was founded on 21 May 1934 as the Tunisian federation of the French Communist Pa ...

. Her shift in ideology and allegiance came about because the leadership of the Destour party, rather than demanding Tunisian autonomy outright, was in favor of liberalization through modification of the existing constitution. Miled was in favor of the more radical approach, which combined nationalist goals with social improvement programs, especially those aimed at providing for women's rights and schooling opportunities for disadvantaged children. In 1951, Miled was appointed to serve on the board of the TWU, and the following year, she became president of the organization, serving in that capacity until it was dissolved in 1963 for its close ties to the communist party. From 1952, she also helped her husband, Mohamed El Salami, and Mohamed Saleh Ka'far write and clandestinely deliver the newspaper ''Commandos'', which urged Tunisians to become involved in liberating themselves and fight for their right to nationhood. Rather than join the

National Union of Tunisian Women The National Union of Tunisian Women (Arabic: الاتحاد الوطني للمراة التونسية; French: Union Nationale de la Femme Tunisienne, UNFT) is a non-governmental organization in Tunisia founded in 1956. The current UNFT president ...

, which Miled saw as too closely allied with the one-party state, she left the formal women's movements. However, she continued to publish articles in a French magazine, ''The Proletarian Revolution'', until her death. With her children grown, she began working as a social worker at the

Charles Nicolle Hospital Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

in Tunis but resigned when the staff began to pressure her to inform on colleagues and adhere to particular religious practices. In 1993, a history of the women involved in the nationalist movement in Tunisia, ''Mémoire de femmes: Tunisiennes dans la vie publique, 1920–1960'' (Memoirs of women: Tunisians in public life, 1920–1960) was published; it contained a biographical sketch of Miled.

Death and legacy

Miled died in Tunis on 6 May 2009. In 2013, the Ilhem Marzouki Feminist University (french: Université Féministe Ilhem Marzouki) held a tribute in her memory and to honor the contributions of historic women to feminism in Tunisia.

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