Radhia Haddad () (March 17, 1922 – October 20, 2003) was a Tunisian feminist activist, and former chairperson of the

National Union of Tunisian Women The National Union of Tunisian Women (; , UNFT) is a non-governmental organization in Tunisia founded in 1956. The current UNFT president is Radhia Jerbi. The National Union of Tunisian Women was founded in 1956 by President Habib Bourguiba thro ...

for fifteen years.

Biography

Born Radhia Ben Ammar () on March 17, 1922, she was the daughter of Salah Ben Ammar. She grew up in a family of traditional Tunisian bourgeois intellectuals. She had her primary studies in French at the French School of Franceville, but, as a girl, she was forced by her parents to leave school at twelve years old after obtaining her primary school certificate. She later wrote that priority in education was given to the males in her family: complaining that "no sacrifice was deemed too great to facilitate the studies of my brothers". Nevertheless, she pursued Arabic language courses at home and learned a lot from her brother, the future politician and activist for human rights Hassib Ben Ammar, with whom she often discussed reading his college books. Radhia Haddad, compelled to wear the traditional Tunisian dressing of the face veil, revolted and refused to leave the house. She took advantage of house calls made to their house by the family doctor, Abderhaman Mami, whenever someone fell ill, to discuss political activities of the

Destour The Constitutional Liberal Party (, '), 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 The term ''Destour'' is usually translate ...

and

Neo-Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party (, '; French language, French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 in Dar Ayed, the house of independence activist Ah ...

political parties in Tunisia.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Haddad, Radhia Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Tunisia) Tunisian women activists Tunisian feminists 1922 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Tunisian women politicians Socialist Destourian Party politicians