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Why this activist pins her hopes on Tunisia's new president

Marwa Heni, who has founded an association to help Tunisian marginalized groups, pins her hopes on the new president.
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Marwa Heni can hardly believe how timid she had been nearly a decade ago — before the Tunisian revolution of December 2010- January 2011. “I was shy and I never would talk in public or before strangers," she told Al-Monitor. Back in December 2010, Marwa was a university student completing the last of her exams when her brother was severely injured by the Tunisian police in the protests at their hometown of Sidi Bouzid.

The demonstrations had started a few days after Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire and died weeks later. Former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s repression was harsh and police brutality rampant. Majd, Marwa’s 18-year-old brother, was one of the first people to be injured in the demonstration; he lost his right eye and his nose and forehead were broken. He was taken to the hospital in Sfax, which the police then besieged — and later the family's house in Sidi Bouzid — to prevent him from telling his story to the media. Nevertheless, a Tunisian journalist managed to speak with Majd and Marwa’s mother, a single unemployed parent, but the story did not see the light of day as the police arrested the journalist and broke his camera to ensure no images were ever published.

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