Sana Ben Achour ( ar, سناء بن عاشور, born 1955) is a Tunisian academic, lawyer and activist, and a specialist in public law. She is a professor of public law at the Faculty of Legal, Political and Social Sciences at the

University of Carthage The University of Carthage ( ar, جامعة قرطاج) is a university located in Tunis, Tunisia, and was founded in 1988. Organization University of Carthage is formed by 21 institutions under single-supervision and 12 under joint-supervision ...

. She is active in several feminist organisations, and has founded a

women's refuge A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

shelter.

Early life

Sana Ben Achour was born in

La Marsa La Marsa ( aeb, المرسى ') is a coastal town in far north eastern Tunisia near the capital Tunis. The population is estimated as 92,987, as of 2014. The old summer capital of pre-colonial Tunisia, it is today a popular vacation spot for many ...

, Tunisia in 1955, daughter of the theologian

Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour ( ar, محمد الفاضل بن عاشور; October 16, 1909 – April 20, 1970) was a Tunisian theologian, writer, trade unionist, intellectual and patriot born in La Marsa. Biography Born October 16, 1909, in a fam ...

(1909–1970). She is the sister of Rafâa and Yadh Ben Achour.

Career

Ben Achour's career has focused on legal education and scientific research in law, and her work covers four main areas: urbanism and cultural heritage, Tunisian law during the colonial period, the status of women, and democracy and civil liberties. An activist committed to equality and citizenship, she is involved with several organizations: the

Tunisian Association of Democratic Women The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (French: ''L'Association tunisienne des femmes démocrates'' (ATFD), Arabic: الجمعية التونسية للنساء الديمقراطيات) is a Tunisian feminist association which was founded ...

(Association tunisienne des femmes démocrates - ATFD), of which she has been the president, the Association of University Women for Research and Development, and the Collective Maghreb 95 Equality. She is a member of the Higher Committee for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and a founding member of the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia. In 2012, she founded a

shelter, Beity (translation: ''My Home''), for single mothers and other women in need, including poor and abused women. Ben Achour is also a member of the

Tunisian human rights League french: Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'homme , native_name_lang = , named_after = , image = Tunisian Human Rights League logo.png , image_size = , alt = Logo of the Tunisian Human Rights Le ...

. In 2015, she was included in the BBC's 100 Women, celebrating 21st century women worldwide. In August 2016, she declined to receive the Order of the Republic from the President of Tunisia,

Béji Caïd Essebsi Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; ar, الباجي قائد السبسي, translit=Muhammad al-Bājī Qā’id as-Sibsī, ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian politician who served as the 6th president of Tunisia from 31 December 20 ...

in protest at the treatment of women in her country.

Publications

* ''Violences à l'égard des femmes: les lois du genre'', Tunis, Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l'homme, 2016 * ''Dictionnaire des termes et des expressions de la constitution tunisienne'', Tunis, Faculté des sciences juridiques de Tunis, 2017, (With Rafâa Ben Achour, Sarra Maaouia Kacem, Mouna Kraiem Dridi et Amira Chaouch)

References

Living people Tunisian women lawyers Academic staff of Carthage University 20th-century Tunisian lawyers Tunisian feminists Tunisian activists Tunisian women activists 1955 births 21st-century Tunisian lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers {{Tunisia-bio-stub