In the past year peace activist and proponent of free speech, Amira Yahyaoui, has been recognised for her continual efforts by winning the conflict prevention prize by the Foundation Chirac.
Yahyaoui’s life story to date is one filled with sadness, but hope. Aged just 16 she was tailed by Tunisia’s secret police and beaten as a result of her activism. In 2005, her cousin Zouhair Yahyaoui died after being persecuted and tortured by the government for his objections to censorship in Tunisia. And after fleeing to France she was rendered stateless for several years until the fall of President Ben Ali, whereupon she gained a passport and returned to Tunisia. There she founded Al Bawsala, an NGO that monitors the country’s legislature and promotes free expression and the protection of human rights.
