Saoussen Ben Cheikh works for Internews, a media development organisation. She is a project director in a Closed States program supporting freedom of expression in the most challenging contexts of conflict, poverty and repression. She is currently overseeing a wide range of activities with local media and civil society focusing on development, peace building, gender and youth participation.
Saoussen was prior a PhD researcher on State and Conflict in the MENA region in the University of Nice (France).
Latest posts by Saoussen Ben Cheikh
Facebook’s news retreat: A death knell for independent MENA local news
Facebook's evolving relationship with the news industry, algorithm adjustments, and their repercussions on local media outlets add complexity to the landscape of news dissemination, particularly affecting smaller, independent media outlets.
Can Algerian human rights defenders be safe in Tunisia?
Tunisia's strong reliance on Algeria places it in a vulnerable position, as Algiers expects reciprocal compliance with its demands, including in the extradition of Algerian human rights defenders in Tunisia.
Deconstructing the politics behind the mistreatment of migrants from Africa in Tunisia
Tunisia's crackdown on African migrants has become a bargaining tool with Europe, leading to an agreement that allows Europe to control immigration in return for helping with Tunisia's economic crisis.
How will Tunisia include its growing poor in an increasingly digital society?
At an age when they should be digital natives, many young Tunisians are starting life without the foundational skills to navigate an increasingly complex and digital world.
Tunisia’s dependence on its Algerian brother: the reign of the counter-revolution axis
Both Algeria and Tunisia have experienced political transitions recently, but Tunisia's vulnerability stems from heavy reliance on Algeria's support amid power centralization and dissent suppression in both countries.
Tunisia is stuck in a permanent state of emergency
Tunisia's repeated extension of the state of emergency is a threat to the country's fragile democracy, as it allows for the suspension of basic rights and freedoms.
Yemen stalemate deepening its long-ignored human rights crisis
All parties are hostile to human rights and “show no regard to international law or the lives, dignity and rights of the people of Yemen ... ”
To save its economy, can Tunisia reform its oversized public sector?
“These past 10 post-revolution years, romanticised by the West, have solidified for us as more misery and living with the failing of state’s institutions."
Tunisians left to themselves to fight COVID-19
Once the pride of Tunisia, the public health system has deteriorated since the 1990s because of corruption and deregulation in favour of the private sector.
The untold plight of imprisoned women in Africa, the Americas, and Asia under the pandemic
"Not only are women at risk of contracting COVID-19, they are also exposed to an increased threat of sexual violence during the pandemic."
COVID-19 has accelerated digitalization but will Tunisia log on?
COVID-19 accelerated digitalization in Tunisia like no previous government could achieve, gaining more digital momentum in a single month than it had in prior decades due to corruption and inaction.
Female genital mutilation likely to rise in the Middle East amid COVID-19 pandemic
The pandemic disrupted FGM prevention measures in the Middle East, where the practice is widely underreported.
‘Invisible hands': How millions of domestic workers fare under COVID-19
"We are the invisible hands. Our work is not valued. We don’t exist for the families we serve nor do we exist for the state."
Impoverished youth in the Middle East turn to cheap — sometimes deadly — alcohol
When large-scale alcohol poisoning outbreaks occur, they make the news in the Middle East, but where is the political will to tackle this sensitive and controversial issue?
Information warfare: COVID-19’s other battleground in the Middle East
As leaders vie to frame narratives and control public opinion on COVID-19, social media is a battlefield where influencers, trolls, bots, and commenter armies fight for influence and power.
As COVID-19 accelerates digital transformation, is the internet safe for women in the Middle East?
Women activists and journalists experience are particularly targeted online in attempts to intimidate, sow disinformation and discredit their work.
From counterterrorism to counter-COVID-19, governments use crises to impose continuous states of emergency in the Middle East
Fighting terrorism used to be the umbrella under which states of emergency were justified in the Middle East. Now, COVID-19 serves as a new justification for sweeping powers.
Across the Middle East, many women face a double threat: Abuser inside, virus outside
The coronavirus pandemic has once again exposed the dire state of women’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa and exacerbated the silent but deadly pandemic of domestic violence.
COVID-19: Switching online is not an option in conflict-stricken countries in the Middle East
While the internet provides a lifeline in wealthy countries during COVID-19, this is not the case in conflict-stricken countries in the Middle East.
COVID-19 in the Middle East: Is this pandemic a health crisis or a war?
War-like rhetoric around COVID-19 has allowed governments in the Middle East and North Africa to execute emergency powers and impose draconian measures that would otherwise be unacceptable.
Fighting COVID-19 goes hand-in-hand with shuttering newspapers across the Middle East
As part of their measures to counter COVID-19, Jordan, Oman, Morocco, the UAE and Yemen, have all banned print newspapers until further notice.