Connecting The Feminist And Queer Movements Through Digital Storytelling

Saif is a feminist and queer activist of Tunisia. They are 22 years old and as a teenager began their activism with local associations and movements that provide safe spaces to feminist and queer activists to connect, organise and speak against sexual harassment and discrimination in a very conservative society. Saif is an active member of associations like Maujodine and the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, and movements like Ena Zeda, which is the Tunisian version of #MeToo, and Falgatna, which is the adaptation of the Chilean anti-rape anthem ‘A rapist in your path’. After a series of attacks targeting them and comrades of the movement because of their gender or sexual orientation, Saif started to think about strategies to highlight the stories and experiences of the queer and feminist community in Tunisia using the power of social media and storytelling. Before starting their engagement with the Lab, they created a book with text and images about cis-women rights and trans people taking an activist approach. With the Lab, Saif decided to take this support to test an idea around creating a documentary with a series of interviews with well-known feminists in different sectors of society from Tunisia such as Sophie Bessis. Using Instagram and Facebook channels, in less than a year the account @feministes.v.v gained more than 2000 followers and the attention of local media and international donors. Throughout the year developing the documentary, Saif realised the value of their networks to secure well-known and very diverse guests; their talent to create a safe space for the interview to become an inspiring conversation for the viewers; and the progress they were doing at a personal level to feel more comfortable in front of a camera, work under pressure, manage a project and their time. Besides being a great resource for Saif’s advocacy, it became a great personal and professional growth opportunity.

“Saif’s video clips are a space that represented a learning, sharing and capitalization space in a time of cyber and physical attacks against feminism and feminists in Tunisia and across the globe. To me the episodes are a way to explore new ways of activism through media and artistic performances using innovative and ground breaking tools.” - Malek, a Tunisian feminist activist who watched Saif’s episodes ‘Feministes Voie/s et Voi/x’.