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Thousands of young doctors went on strike across Tunisia on Wednesday to demand higher pay and warn of an impending collapse of the health system, part of a broader wave of social unrest convulsing the country.
The rally, held under the banner “Against Injustice,” brought together families of political detainees and activists from different ideological backgrounds.
The demonstration drew more than 1,000 protesters, some dressed in black and chanting anti-regime slogans, including “The people want to overthrow the regime,” “What a great country! Oppression and tyranny!” and “No fear no terror, the street belongs to the people.”
The protest came as part of a broader surge in protests nationwide over political and economic turmoil under Saied’s rule. On Thursday, Tunisian journalists protested against the widening crackdown on the freedom of the press and the temporary suspension of several prominent civil society organizations.
Protesters also called out Saied’s interference in the judiciary and accused him of using the police to target political opponents.
Ayoub Amara, one of the organizers, told reporters on Saturday that the protest aimed to highlight the plight of those held in Tunisian prisons for their political opinions. He said it also touched on other broader grievances, including environmental protests convulsing the phosphate-producing city of Gabes and arbitrary arrests under anti-terrorism laws.
“All the progress of the past 14 years has been overturned,” Amara said. ” Tunisia is big enough for all Tunisians, and no single person can rule it according to his whims.”
Monia Brahim, the wife of jailed opposition figure Abdelhamid Jlassi, said she joined the march because she believes “many Tunisians are facing deep injustice.”
“I came to defend my rights as a citizen,” she told The Associated Press. “Political prisoners know for a fact that they are in prison to pay the price for their principles, their constitutional right for civil and political activism, and are being held hostage by the regime established today in Tunisia.”
Among those detained, some are currently on hunger strike including constitutional law professor Jawher Ben Mbarek who has been striking for over 20 days.
Several rights groups have raised increasing alarm over the growing scale of repression in Tunisia. Human Rights Watch has said that over 50 people, including politicians, lawyers, journalists and activists, have been subjected to arbitrary arrest or prosecution since late 2022, for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly or political activity.
The rights group also warned that broad anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws were being utilized to criminalize dissent and tame all forms of free speech.
Saied, who suspended parliament and consolidated all branches of power in July 2021, said his actions were necessary to root out corruption, eliminate “traitors” and restore state institutions.
Thousands of young doctors went on strike across Tunisia on Wednesday to demand higher pay and warn of an impending collapse of the health system, part of a broader wave of social unrest convulsing the country.
A spate of environmental and anti-government protests prompted by a worsening economic crisis and disruptions in public services has posed the biggest challenge to President Kais Saied since he seized all power in 2021.
“We are exhausted, underpaid and working in a system that is breaking down,” said Marwa, who declined to give her surname, while attending a protest rally in the capital Tunis with hundreds of other doctors.
“If nothing changes, more doctors will leave and the crisis will only deepen,” she added.
The protesters, wearing white coats, brandished placards that read “Dignity for doctors” and “Save our hospitals” as they gathered near Tunisia’s parliament.
As well as low wages, the protesters complained of outdated equipment and shortages of essential medical supplies, factors which they said were fueling a growing exodus of young health professionals to Europe and the Gulf.
“As long as the authorities ignore our demands, we will continue to escalate, resist and lead the social movement in the country,” Wajih Dhakkar, head of the Young Doctors’ Organization, told Reuters.
The Health Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Saied has accused what he describes as conspirators and infiltrators of fabricating crises in various sectors in order to undermine the state.
Tunisia has seen strikes over pay by transport workers and bank employees in recent months, while the southern city of Gabes has been a focal point of protests over a pollution crisis blamed on a state-owned chemical plant.