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Tunisia, like the other countries of the Arab Maghreb, is especially vulnerable to the impact of the novel coronavirus both to their healthcare systems and economies. Still transforming since the fall of Zinedine Ben Ali’s dictatorship in 2011, the Tunisian health sector is still stricken with many flaws and deficiencies. Even so, Tunis has had a long tradition of training excellent doctors and medical faculties, some of the best on the African continent. The country’s healthcare sector is also increasingly feminized, which is true of the field worldwide, but this trend has accelerated since the introduction of private health providers. Many doctors, especially men, have chosen to pursue their medical careers abroad facing stagnation in their homeland. In light of these challenges, Tunisia’s still emerging democratic government is now being tested by the pandemic – one of the truly international crises it has faced. After several weeks of negotiation, the government of Habib Jemli, which included among its members 9 women and two ministers representing Jewish The Tunisian Women Doctors Leading the Struggle Against COVID-19: Hope for the Rise of a New Ethical Culture By Lilia Labidi Occasional Paper Series No. 36 l June 2020 THE TUNISIAN WOMEN DOCTORS LEADING THE STRUGGLE AGAINST COVID-19: Hope for the Rise of a New Ethical Culture 2 and Black minorities, was rejected by parliament. On February 26, 2020, parliament finally gave a vote of confidence to Elyes Fakhfakh to head the government under the duress of confronting the spread of COVID-19. As the response to the crisis mounted, women care-givers, doctors and psychologists stood up to the challenge in a healthcare system that was suffering from authoritarian attitudes, divisions between the disciplines, and great regional disparities with regard to equipment, personnel, and equality of access. However, the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for a number of Tunisian women doctors, caregivers and psychologists to gain visibility and sometimes even fame. These women are found across the spectrum of the Tunisian medical establishment from doctors, frontline staff, to researchers and bureau chiefs in the Ministry of Health. This essay presents a number of cases of women who emerged during this critical time. Beginning with a brief discussion of the history of Tunisian women in medicine, we will then turn to how the country has reacted and dealt with the pandemic and its economic and social consequences. From that discussion we will address several cases of specific women doctors and psychologists whose elevated public positions have made them well known figures in Tunisia’s confrontation with the crisis. Finally, the emergence of these women as public leaders conducting an objective and deliberate response to the problem suggest the development of a new scientific and ethical culture following the long period of democratic transition ongoing since January 2011. 

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