Country Briefing: Tunisia
Home to Africa’s northernmost point, Tunisia has a diverse and vibrant culture. Although the country has a rich Christian heritage and was once the centre of Christianity in North Africa, today less than 1% of Tunisians are Christian. As the birthplace of the Arab Spring, Tunisia has enjoyed over a decade of progressive social policy, particularly in relation to women’s freedoms. But today, concerns are growing that the country is moving Tunisia towards a more authoritarian state once again. Into this context, SAT-7 has been developing and broadcasting more content for Tunisia and North Africa, to bring joy to believers and empower marginalised women.
THE TUNISIA BRIEFING: Pursuing love, freedom and equality in North Africa
While Algeria lies to the west and Libya to the southeast, it’s the Mediterranean that borders the north and much of the east of the country, giving way to over 700 miles of coastline and earning Tunisia its reputation for golden sandy beaches. Indeed, Tunisia’s strategic Mediterranean location and the accessibility of the Sahara Desert have attracted civilisations, traders and visitors to its shores for centuries.
Visit Tunisia’s modern-day capital of Tunis and you might also stumble across the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage; the seat of the renowned Carthaginian Empire. As one of the most powerful and influential cities in antiquity, Carthage became an important centre for early Christian teaching. In the Second and Third Centuries, the city was home to influential scholars such as Cyprian, Augustine, and Tertullian, the Tunisian lawyer who was instrumental in developing Christian vocabulary, including the word ‘Trinity’. Later coming under Roman, Vandal and Byzantine influence, Tunisia was ruled by successive Islamic dynasties after the Arab conquest in the 7th Century, until it became part of the Ottoman Empire and finally a French colony in the late 19th Century.
Tunisia gained independence in 1956, and under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba sought to modernise its economy and pursue a progressive social agenda, especially the emancipation of women. Despite Tunisia’s more progressive policies, the country remained an authoritarian state. Bourguiba’s successor, long-serving president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, was ousted in 2011 during the Jasmine Revolution, which became the catalyst for the Arab Spring.
More recently, the election of Kais Saied as president in 2019 has seen the re-imposition of various aspects of authoritarian rule. Since his self-coup in 2021, he has suspended parliament, rolled back women’s rights, rewritten the constitution and increased pressure on journalists, who now face criminal charges for defamation, in his reversal of almost a decade of democratic gains.
ChRISTIANS IN TUNISIA
Once the seat of the Church in North Africa, Tunisia is still home to a small community of Christians, as well as Jews and Baha’is. The Tunisian government reports that there are only around 2,000 Tunisian Christians, although local NGOs estimate that there may be as many as 6,000. Open Doors, a charity who raises awareness of persecuted Christians, currently ranks Tunisia at number 34 on their World Watch List, the annual list of places where it is hardest to be a Christian.
Since the Arab Spring, Tunisia has enjoyed constitutional religious freedom, which is reflected in the country’s broad attitude of tolerance. Unlike in other Arab countries, ID cards do not include a person’s religion, making it easier for people to change their beliefs without facing discrimination. Tunisia’s new constitution, however, is ambiguous regarding freedom of religion and belief. Converts to Christianity can face job insecurity, ostracization from their communities, and even physical violence. Women are often most at risk and can be subject to forced marriage or separation from their children, particularly since President Saied rewrote the constitution to roll back women’s rights in 2022. Church gatherings are closely monitored by the government and attacks on house churches and arrests of Christians are both increasing. As a result, many Christians are choosing to worship in private.
Despite this, the Church in North Africa is continuing to grow, including among migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. SAT-7 receives thousands of messages from viewers in Tunisia. One of those messages came from Jalila, who shared: “I’m 38 and I live in Tunisia. I left my old religious background a month ago and believed in Jesus Christ, my Lord and King. I was having a discussion online with a Christian and she suggested that I look deeper into my religious background… I started searching and I was shocked at what I found. Now I read the Bible regularly, thank God.”
In an interview with Christian News, a Tunisian church leader named Elijah shared that, although the Christian community in Tunisia is small, it is a testament to the enduring faith of the region. “It is a challenge to be a Christian in Tunisia,” he said, “but at the same it is pleasure to live the Christian life and to share this with others.”
TODAY NOT TOMORROW
Women in Tunisia are typically afforded more freedoms than in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. SAT-7 recently took one of its flagship women’s programmes, Today Not Tomorrow, on the road in Tunisia, to interview women on topics affecting their everyday life.
“Tunisia has laws that are well ahead of other Arab countries with regards to women’s rights,” said programme producer Maggie Morgan. “We wanted to show what is possible by looking at life for women in Tunisia and thereby raise the hopes and aspirations of women in other countries.”
In the programme, Somaya El Zayany, a visual artist, explained how women in Tunisia are free to dress how they choose. “We respect each other’s differences,” she said. “I am friends with women who wear a headdress and others who don’t. It is personal freedom.”
While the Today Not Tomorrow episodes highlighted a number of areas where Tunisian women enjoy greater rights and freedom, the show also interviewed campaigners who are calling for further improvements and better implementation of existing laws, particularly in relation to family matters.
“It is true that we Tunisian women have more rights and freedom by law, such as the right to education, and I am proud of that,” said journalist Doha El Twehry. “But we also want to improve on that by seeking further rights and freedoms. It’s not a rosy situation because the law is not always applied, especially in rural areas.” Rights activist Manal El Aswad highlighted that many women are still subject to domestic violence and shared that while there are laws against it, it’s still a very prevalent issue in the country.
Today Not Tomorrow is part of SAT-7’s broader gender equality project that includes workshops, support groups and social media programmes. The project aims to help women and girls in the Arab world enjoy the freedom and dignity they deserve as people made in the image of God, and in 2025 will include brand-new programmes such as Blessed Woman, also to be produced in Tunisia.
SAT-7 ENCOURAGES BELIEVERS IN TUNISIA DURING RAMADAN
As well as women’s programmes, SAT-7 ARABIC recently aired a special devotional programme from Tunisia, Evening Gatherings, throughout the 30 days of Ramadan. Filmed in Tunisia, the programme was a beautiful display of unity among believers as they encouraged each other with testimonies, prayers and worship.
Evening Gatherings was filmed with local Tunisian believers in a traditional home and extended a warm welcome to believers and seekers alike. Andrew Gamal, a SAT-7 Audio Studio Manager who worked on Evening Gatherings, explained the special timing and wide appeal of the show: “Ramadan here is similar to Christmas in the West, in that it is as much a community celebration as it is a religious festival. Significantly, it is when the majority of special television productions are made. When families break their fast in the evening, they sit together eating and watching TV! People are also more open spiritually during this period, so Evening Gatherings is a good opportunity to show what Christians believe and how they worship.”
As well as drawing on universal themes that feature during Ramadan and other world festivals, such as sharing a meal with family, the programme sought to showcase the Church in North Africa, especially in Tunisia, which comprises mostly of small groups gathering in homes for worship and fellowship.
For many in Tunisia, who live out their faith under pressure, considering Jesus’ teaching on persecution will have been particularly moving. “Some of our brothers and sisters in Tunisia in certain areas were assaulted by people in authority,” said Pastor Kamal. “We want to defend all those in pain and the forgotten. We want to say, ‘Blessed are you when these things happen to you because you will gain the kingdom of heaven’. People can say bad things about you and that you worship in a strange way. No, it’s not strange… Rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven. Let’s rejoice because our reward is from the Lord.”
As Tunisia navigates a changing political landscape, we pray that SAT-7 programmes like Today Not Tomorrow will continue to empower and support women in the country, and across the region, especially as Tunisian women seek to maintain their personal freedoms despite the changes in the constitution elsewhere. And as the monitoring of Churches in the country increases, we pray that Christians in Tunisia will be strengthened, built up and encouraged by SAT-7 programmes like Evening Gatherings as they worship and seek to learn more about Jesus.
Please Pray:
- Pray that Tunisia will continue to make progress towards freedom of speech, gender equality and freedom of religion, despite the current political situation.
- Give thanks for Today Not Tomorrow. Pray that SAT-7 programmes like this will continue to provide support and encouragement for women facing challenges and discrimination.
- Give thanks that SAT-7 is producing more programmes in Tunisia. Ask God to grant the team understanding of the unique needs and challenges of those in Tunisia, as well as the skills, creativity, and understanding to produce more programmes that touch viewers’ hearts and will attract and speak to a wide and growing audience in the country.
- Pray for Christians in Tunisia, that the constitution will once again unequivocally grant freedom of religion. Pray for strength for Christians in the country who have been rejected by their families and who feel under pressure for their faith in Jesus.
- Give thanks for the SAT-7 Viewer Support team, and the encouragement that they provide. Pray for them as they kindly and patiently answer questions and interact with viewers and ask that the Lord uses their conversations to plant seeds of faith that will bear fruit for generations to come.