As long as screams go unheard, we must scream louder.
As long as tears fall in the dark, we must bring them to light.
As long as life is reduced to mere survival, we must defend it — fiercely, with love and with truth.
Today, we speak for Assala, a transgender Tunisian woman, broken by violence and humiliation, yet still standing. A woman her own country refuses to acknowledge, respect, or protect.
And today — because Tunisia has turned a deaf ear — we turn to you, the international community: to human rights defenders, foreign embassies, international organizations, and global citizens of conscience.
Hear her. Help her. Protect her.
Assala: To live in Tunisia is to die a little every day
Born Ahmed Bouzir on December 8, 1992, in Kalaa Sghira, near Sousse, Assala has known for many years that the name on her identity card is not who she is. Her name is Assala. It is her choice. It is her right.
But in today’s Tunisia, that right is denied.
Every day, Assala walks through life with fear in her chest. Fear of being seen. Fear of being mocked. Fear of being assaulted in the street, kicked out of taxis, refused medical care, or dragged into police stations just for existing.
Because in Tunisia, being trans is not just misunderstood — it is treated like a crime.
She was arrested in a public space in Tunis, at GOLF Arab. There was no legal reason. She was simply targeted by police because she looked “different.” They assumed she was homosexual, as if that alone warranted arrest and mistreatment. She was interrogated, insulted, humiliated.
They refused to call her Assala.
They spat her legal name — Ahmed — like a curse.
They didn’t see a woman. They didn’t even see a person.
They saw a problem to be erased.
She doesn’t want to escape. She just wants to live.
Assala could have fled. She could have tried to start over elsewhere. But she doesn’t have the means — and more importantly, she refuses to remain silent.
She wants the world to hear her. Not just for herself, but for all the others like her — hundreds of trans people in Tunisia, living in silence, in shame, in fear.
We don’t know how many. Because they are invisible.
Because if they speak, they risk prison. Or worse.
Tunisia offers them no legal recognition. No protection. No refuge.
It drives them into depression, isolation, and — too often — suicide.
So now, we cry out to the world
To the United Nations.
To Human Rights Watch.
To Amnesty International.
To ILGA World.
To the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
To every democratic embassy operating in Tunisia.
We ask you to listen to Assala.
We ask you to speak up for the invisible.
We ask you to pressure the Tunisian government to face its reality.
And we ask you to intervene — before more lives are destroyed.
We demand:
- An international investigation into police brutality against trans and LGBTQ+ individuals in Tunisia.
- Emergency protection, asylum mechanisms, or relocation programs for trans people facing persecution.
- Clear diplomatic pressure for Tunisia to respect its commitments to basic human rights and dignity.
Assala is not a danger. She is a victim.
What is happening to Assala is not an accident.
It is not an isolated case.
It is the result of a system designed to silence and dehumanize those who don’t conform.
But Assala is still here. Still speaking. Still alive.
“I am not a man. I am not a crime. I am a woman. I am Assala. And I want to live.”
Shams is by her side — but we need the world’s help
At Shams, we have been defending LGBTQIA+ rights in Tunisia for years. We do not have the resources of a government. We do not have the power of a police force. But we have truth. And we have voices. And we won’t stop using them.
But our voices alone are no longer enough.
So we turn to you — the global community.
We ask you to amplify this call.
To stand with Assala.
To stand with every trans person in Tunisia who can no longer breathe.
Tunisia may try to silence them. But the world can choose to listen.
