Tunisian Womens Writing in French: The Fight for Emancipation: From Ben Alis Rise to Power to the Eve of the Tunisian Revolution, 19872011

Tunisian womens literary production in French, published or set between the years 1987 and 2011 from Tunisias second president Zine El Abidine Ben Alis rise to power to the eve of the Tunisian Revolution reveals the role of women, their political engagement, and their resistance to patriarchal oppression.

A great deal of media and scholarly attention has focused on the role of women during the Tunisian Revolution itself, yet few studies have considered womens literary and active engagement prior to the uprising. By contrast, this book focuses specifically on the time period leading to the Revolution. The book is structured around three chapters, each focusing on a different form of writing and on a number of contemporary Tunisian writers who have chosen to express themselves in French. Sonia Alba explores the complex ways in which the authors have attempted to deal with those issues
cultural, social and political most relevant to them. This is the first study of Tunisian womens writing in French to compare and contrast key themes in three different genres within a single study and within the conceptual framework of subaltern counterpublics. The work is enhanced by the inclusion of extracts from previously unpublished authors interviews.

Tunisian Womens Writing in French is essential reading for all Francophone and Postcolonial scholars, and for scholars and students working in Contemporary Womens Writing.