The role of NGOs in women’s empowerment: the case of Tunisia

Abstract

CAWTAR is an international NGO based in Tunis that implements projects and programs in the Arab world, in cooperation with local NGOs. The main goal of CAWTAR is to eradicate discrimination against Arab women and to reduce inequalities through the promotion of research, education and training. During this internship, I became aware of the crucial role NGOs play in women’s empowerment, especially in countries where the States fail to guarantee gender equality and a decent life to all citizens. In fact, women’s empowerment became very popular in the last decade and NGOs proved being an efficient actor in this field, helping States to eradicate poverty and guarantee gender equality. In this report, an attempt has been made to define empowerment in the general context, and to present it in the Tunisian one through examples of programs that have been carried out by three NGOs: CAWTAR, LET and TAHADI.