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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.
Circa 1635, Twenty two different tortures inflicted on Christian slaves in the Barbary States of North Africa in the 1600's. Original Publication: From 'Histoire de Barbarie' by Dan, published in 1637. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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.

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