Tunisia
In Sousse’s medina, Garibaldi Square was redesigned with women’s voices at the centre
Some places reveal a city’s values in quiet details. Not in speeches, but in lighting, clear lines of sight, benches, and walkable routes. This week, Tunisian reporting highlighted the inauguration of Garibaldi Square and Rue Victor Hugo in the historic medina of Sousse as part of the Femmedina programme.
The idea is straightforward: redesign public space so it works for everyone, especially for women and girls who often calculate their routes by time of day. Femmedina describes a community led process, where residents and local actors feed real experience into the plan instead of receiving a design imposed from above.
What results can look ordinary in photos: a tidier square, clearer paths, improved lighting, a place where you can pause without feeling exposed. That ordinariness is the point. When a square stops being perceived as risky, daily life shifts. Small vendors stay open longer. Family visits become easier. Young people meet without detours. A medina that is often treated like a backdrop starts to feel like a living present again.
This week’s facts come mainly from local reporting and project communications. A fully independent impact evaluation is not available yet. Still, the event itself is concrete: a real place was rebuilt, and the process explicitly centred women’s perspectives. No drama, no spectacle. Just a square quietly saying: you belong here.
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