Tunisia allows man to drop slavery-linked name
One Tunisian man has won the battle to remove a part of his name that indicated slave status, but human rights organizations see the decision as a small step in a country that still suffers rampant racism and discrimination.
The Court of First Instance of Medenine, in southeastern Tunisia, ruled Oct. 14 allowing Hamdan Atig Dali, 81, to remove the term “atig” — which means liberated slave — from his name in all official documents.
The Justice Ministry had rejected the same request back in 2017, claiming that there are no relevant institutions to decide in the case.
Kareem Dali, the man’s 39-year-old son, told Al-Monitor, “For the first time in my life, I feel that I am a citizen with full duties like any other Tunisian citizen. Justice has finally prevailed, particularly since my family was subjected to a lot of harassment, discrimination and racism by the community.”
Kareem described the court ruling as historic. “It is a major triumph, not only for the family, but for all those who have dark skin in Tunisia." The ruling "could push them to seriously think of filing similar cases,” he said.
