The municipality of Tunis is working on different initiatives to improve the situation of women in the historic center of Tunis, the Medina. Nevertheless, the Medina’s women still face multiple challenges hindering their social, political, cultural, and economic participation. The gender-focused project Femmedina, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Cities Alliance, in collaboration with the City of Tunis, aims to rehabilitate and activate the public spaces in the historic centre of Tunis through a broader process of women’s participation. This 18-month project examines gender-sensitive approaches to urban planning that support women living in these areas, along with helping city leaders to improve participatory decision-making.

The Femmedina project comprises three phases that reinforce each other:

Phase 1: A participatory assessment. 

During the first phase, local experts and citizens living in the vicinity of the Medina were being engaged to identify the sorts of interventions necessary to improve the public space for women’s participation. Vital information and data were being collected through interviews, workshops, and surveys.

Phase 2: The creation of inclusive public space projects in the Medina. 

This phase consisted of testing an innovative and comprehensive approach for planning, implementing, and managing safe and inclusive public spaces in Tunis. The municipality of Tunis led the physical interventions that took place. The specific uses and facilities of the space were being defined through a participatory process, and local labour and local artists have undertake the technical coordination of public space projects.

Phase 3: A city-to-city exchange to share the approach and results of the Tunis activities with other Tunisian cities. (October 2021 to April 2022)

Practices developed and implemented successfully in Tunis will be showcased across the country through online or offline learning events.

This 18-month project examines gender-sensitive approaches to urban planning that support women living in these areas, along with helping city leaders to improve participatory decision-making. Due to the project’s clear structure it can easily implemented in other contexts.