The presence of Libyan women is gradually expanding in positions of leadership and parliamentary work, with remarkable breakthroughs recently achieved in municipal councils, in addition to their participation in the paths of political dialogue and civil society, in a country that has been experiencing political and military division for more than a decade.
However, this presence is still below the demographic weight of women, as women represent about half of Libya’s population, while female activists speak of the continuation of practices that endure exclusion and social, security, and political obstacles, amid demands for broader participation in political life.
Female academics and activists who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat are committed to expanding women’s participation in public life, from local councils to parliament and leadership positions in the country, noting the disparity in opportunities and obstacles from one region to another, in addition to the exposure of female candidates and decision-makers to pressure, defamation campaigns, and threats online.
According to the head of the “General Libyan Women’s Union,” Fathia Al-Bakhbakhi, Libyan women “with hard effort and a continuous political and civil movement, have proven that they are strong and capable of overcoming challenges and difficulties of any kind.” Typically, “the circumstances of the conflict and the difficult days that Libya is experiencing in the transitional period were a true laboratory for the strength of Libyan women and their ability to win the bet.”
Al-Bakhbakhhi pointed out to Asharq Al-Awsat that women have achieved a presence in civil society, unions, and the electoral process, in addition to their participation in political dialogue.
Women hold five ministerial portfolios, in addition to their membership in the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State. During the last two years, their presence in the local administration has expanded, with the election of two women deans for the first time in Libya’s history: Al-Za’irah Al-Fitouri Al-Maqtouf in Zalten, and Jamila Al-Lawati in Suluq.
In the recent local council elections, 207 women won seats, representing 23.8 percent of the total elected members, according to data from the United Nations Development Programme. Al-Bakhbakhji believes that these results “reflect a gradual increase in women’s presence in the public and political sphere,” stressing “the continued effort to increase their representation in Parliament and the upcoming electoral elections, in addition to their empowerment in civil society, parties, unions, and the High National Elections Commission.”
Women constitute about 49.3 percent of the total population of Libya, with 3 million, 638,621 women out of 7,384,208, according to the latest data from the Census and Statistics Authority (governmental), issued last May based on a census conducted in 2024.
The disparity between regions appears more clearly in the south of Libya, where civil activist and head of the “Tasdaq” humanitarian organization, Zainab Amhamed Khamis, says, “The challenges associated with the marginalization and intimidation of women appear to be broader in the south, in light of the complex tribal and social considerations, despite the authorities’ support for women’s participation.”
Zainab explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that a woman’s access to the position of mayor in the south “is still a distant dream,” while “simply declaring a desire to run for parliament may lead to exposure to bullying and social pressure from some.”
She adds that these pressures extend to daily life, which can “disable women’s abilities and push some of them to view the home as their natural place,” noting that “civil society organizations and local associations continue to work to change this image and provide more space for women in public life.”
She summarizes the ambitions of female activists in the south by saying: “We are committed to our dream of empowering women in a way that reflects their demographic weight, assuming leadership positions in the state, and even reaching the presidency.”
Obstacles are not limited to social and geographical pressures, as a report by the United Nations Development Program last September monitored an escalation of electronic violence against women participating in municipal elections during 2025, starting with registration and candidacy, all the way to campaigns and announcing the results.
The United Nations mission previously said last March that “women holding public positions often face intimidation and harassment,” noting that “these practices undermine their participation in governance,” calling for “legal reforms that remove obstacles to women’s access to resources and decision-making positions.”
Here, Al-Bakhbakhhi points out that “the support of the United Nations mission played a role in helping Libyan women overcome some of the difficulties that appeared after 2011,” noting that women’s participation in “the structured dialogue and the advisory committee sponsored by the United Nations reached about 35 percent.”
But the female elites do not seem ready to stop there. The dialogue sponsored by the United Nations between the two parties to the conflict in eastern and western Libya, which led to an agreement on electoral legislation at the end of last August, sparked criticism due to the absence of any female representation at the negotiating table.
Legal expert Dr. Jazia Shaiteer believes that this absence is “contrary to all constitutional and legal precedents and even political agreements,” in addition to being the subject of criticism by politicians and the UN mission, which, in her opinion, should have required female representation in the negotiations, in a way that enhances the participation of Libyan women in the peace process, and respects Security Council Resolution No. 1325. She confirms to Asharq Al-Awsat that Libyan women adhere to “their right to decide the future of the country.”
On the other hand, human rights activist Intisar Al-Qalib warns against “generalizing the description of Libyan society as masculine,” stressing to Asharq Al-Awsat that there are “wrong social practices that must be confronted with law and awareness.” It also points out that empowering women requires “a just law, institutions that do justice to them, and a society that respects their rights and dignity.”
Libyan teachers have continued their strike since mid-September, amid concern about the future of students. Although the “Teachers’ Movement” denied postponing the academic year until next December, and confirmed that studies would resume as soon as its financial demands were met, the rumor that spread over the past two days had an impact in the country.
According to observers, “The length of the strike, which has been ongoing since mid-September, and the fear of its extension, caused parents to worry about missing out on the academic year, so the street’s sympathy for (the movement) declined relatively, and some even went on to direct criticism accusing its leaders of using the students’ future as a pressure card in their dispute with the authorities.”
This popular tension was reflected on social media platforms through hashtags such as: “#Open_Schools,” others showing students as victims of the conflict, and voices questioning the competence of some of the strikers.
These pressures put the “Teachers’ Movement” in a defensive position, as it issued statements exonerating the charge of “ignoring students,” especially children from poor and middle-income families in the government schools included in the strike, given the regularity of work in private schools for children of the affluent.
Positions denouncing the cessation of studies ranged between those who focused on its general repercussions, and those who held the responsibility equally, between teachers and the two governments disputing for power in the east and west of the country, in addition to those who placed all the blame on the movement “for going beyond union work.”
Libyan political analyst, Mohamed Mahfouz, criticized the suspension of the study on Facebook. While the head of the “Benghazi Forum for Economic Development and Development,” Khaled Bou Zakouk, described disrupting classes as “a historic and unprecedented crime in any country,” adding that “students and their future are victims of intransigence in meeting teachers’ demands on the one hand, and the teachers’ strike on the other hand.”
Football coach Jamal Bannour warned of “educational dimensions, such as the student forgetting what he learned and weakening his basic skills,” and described the suspension as “a social disaster that drives students, especially those in their teenage years, to stay up at night and sleep during the day, and spend hours in front of phones.”
As for researcher and activist Intisar Al-Qalib, she called on her Facebook page to “file an urgent lawsuit against everyone who obstructs the opening of schools without legal justification,” stressing: “We will not accept that our children be hostages of disputes.”
During the past few hours, parents attacked the “Teachers’ Movement,” but the head of the “Teachers’ Movement,” Ashraf Al-Hadi, stressed “adherence to the demands raised a month and a half ago, which began with a sit-in in front of schools, then escalated two weeks later into an open strike that included all public schools,” stressing that “the return of school depends on responding to them.”
Al-Hadi told Asharq Al-Awsat, “Our demands and rights are reinforced by judicial rulings issued years ago, disbursing the arrears of financial differences to workers in the sector from 2018 to 2021.”
He stated that “the average salaries of the majority of teachers range between 1,600 and 1,700 dinars per month, and they are approximately 600,000 teachers, and their children constitute the majority in those schools, meaning that they are the first to be affected.”
Regarding the impact of delays in academic achievement, Al-Hadi explained: “We went through this scenario previously due to the delay in the school textbook, armed conflicts, and the (Corona) pandemic, and we overcame it wisely, and we are able to repeat it if it meets our rights.”
Libya is experiencing a political division between two competing governments, the first of which is the “National Unity” government headed by Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba in Tripoli, and a government appointed by Parliament, headed by Osama Hammad, and which enjoys the support of the commander of the “National Army,” Khalifa Haftar.
Al-Hadi pointed out the “flexibility” shown by the “movement” by agreeing to divide the due financial differences into payments so as not to burden the state budget, provided that the time period and the value of the payment are specified. He pointed out that “their demands include a unified salary scale that achieves justice.” He points out that the salary schedule recently issued by the “unity” government “did not meet the aspirations of teachers, and they are waiting for a unified schedule from Parliament in a few days.”
He said, “A strike is a legitimate right guaranteed by a union and reinforced by judicial rulings.” He warned that “continued neglect and numbing promises may waste the academic year, which is what the teacher never wants.”
According to the “Educational Indicators of the Ministry of Education” platform in Tripoli, the number of pre-university education students is approximately 2,665,374 students, of whom private education attracts approximately 26 percent.
Libyan political analyst Hossam Fneish believes that “the continuation of the strike has raised concerns among some families about the specter of the ‘white year’, so sympathy for the ‘teachers’ movement’ has declined to some extent, and arguments have emerged, although not yet expanded, between teachers and families via social media platforms.”
However, Fneish returned to point out that “the greatest blame remains on the authority,” explaining to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the education sector includes approximately one-third of state workers; Every Libyan household has a son or relative who belongs to the profession, in addition to everyone realizing that salaries are no longer sufficient in light of the high prices and the dollar amounting to about 10 dinars in the (parallel market).”
In the face of the blockage, the “General Union of Libyan Students” put forward an initiative to resume studies in public schools with a “part-time” system to ensure that the curriculum is not lost, while teachers continue to protest, without completely disrupting classes.
Algeria commemorated on Sunday the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of its liberation revolution (1954-1962), in a context in which “memory” issues, diplomatic tension, and security challenges intersect. Coinciding with the launch of a new operation to cleanse French nuclear test sites in the south, the Ministry of Defense accused Paris of “evading its criminal responsibility for radioactive waste and refusing to provide maps and records of its burial sites.”
This coincides with security developments on the southern border, and a stagnation in the process of settling the “memory” files with France, in addition to internal political entitlements.
The Ministry of Defense announced in a statement on Sunday the launch of “the second operation to purify the French nuclear test tunnel site” in the “Ain Yaker” area of radioactive waste, with “national competencies and capabilities,” according to a statement by the ministry.
The region is located in the state of Tamanrasset in the far south of the country, where France exploded atomic bombs in the early 1960s, among 16 other bombs that were detonated in two main locations in the Sahara Desert.
The statement confirmed that the operation was supervised by the army in cooperation with the “National Agency for the Rehabilitation of Old Sites of French Nuclear Tests and Explosions in Southern Algeria,” noting that it was carried out “in accordance with applicable national and international standards.”
The Ministry of Defense accused France of “evading its criminal responsibility and refusing to provide records and maps of the dumping sites of this nuclear waste, which continues to constitute an obstacle to development in both Ain Yakir, Tamanrasset Province, and Argan, Adrar Province.” She stressed that “national competencies will continue their efforts to completely cleanse the nuclear waste left by French colonialism in the south of the country, and work to rehabilitate these sites in the future.”
The statement added that the state “has harnessed all material and human capabilities for this complex operation, in a real challenge raised by the national competencies that will undertake the success of this mission, with strict adherence to safety conditions, protocols and international standards related to identifying radioactive areas, collecting nuclear waste and storing it inside concrete containers designated for this purpose.”
The first operation to purge the Ain Yaker site of nuclear radiation was launched on February 13, 2026, coinciding with the commemoration of the 66th anniversary of the French nuclear explosions in Algeria.
In the context of the celebrations, the presidency published a written letter by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in which he highlighted the historical depth of this pivotal station, and “the necessity of preserving national sovereignty and the forward-looking vision of the state in facing the current geopolitical challenges.”
Tebboune stressed that “the struggle of the Algerian people in the face of more than a century of aggression, the plunder of lands, and attempts to obliterate national identity, remains an immortal page of the resistance.” This struggle, waged by generations of resistors, culminated in the outbreak of the “liberation revolution,” which he described as “a decisive historical milestone that embodied the will of a free people who made the greatest sacrifices in order for Algeria to remain free and proud.”
Speaking about the current situation, Tebboune stressed “the importance of national cohesion and the strength of state institutions in the face of regional transformations.”
His speech also addressed “the strategic dimension of the sovereign decisions taken by Algeria,” stressing that “the constitutional framework and institutional consensus that were established within the framework of cooperation with a brotherly and neighborly country reflect the keenness to protect our vital interests, and embody the forward-looking dimension as a decisive element in our national security strategy, in light of the current conditions that the region is witnessing.”
In this part of his speech, the president refers to the transfer of army units to Niger, in recent days, for the purpose of protecting energy facilities belonging to the Algerian state-owned company, Sonatrach, as he announced when Parliament voted on October 25 on the decision to send the army outside the borders, in the first military operation since participating in the 1973 Ramadan War.
As an extension of these events, Algeria, on Saturday, sent shipments of fuel to Niger, across the border, to solve the energy crisis that this country is experiencing, in a scene that revealed a new outlook in dealing with the transformations that the Sahel region is experiencing, where the interests of major powers intersect.
At home, the “anniversary of the revolution” falls in preparation for the municipal and state elections campaign, scheduled to begin next Thursday, in preparation for the elections on the twenty-eighth of this month, amid partisan protests against the exclusion of hundreds of candidates on the grounds of “suspicions related to financial corruption.”
On the other hand, the government says that it has activated what it describes as a “security sieve, with the aim of purifying the political scene from the residues of corruption left by the previous regime,” according to the official narrative regarding the electoral dates that have been organized since the resignation of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the midst of the “street revolution” against his rule in February 2019.
In a related matter, attention is turning to the consequences of the presidential pardon approved by President Tebboune, on Saturday, on the occasion of the celebrations of the “War of Liberation,” which includes 5,539 prisoners, who are permanently sentenced, and whose sentences, or the remaining period of them, do not exceed 24 months, whether they are inside or outside prisons.
While the presidential decree specified a list of crimes excluded from benefiting from amnesty, the question remains regarding the extent to which this measure includes dozens of activists sentenced on the basis of their opposition positions, and whether their legal status and the sentences issued against them allow them to benefit from its measures.
It should be noted that the decree excludes, among other categories, those convicted in cases of terrorism, corruption, money laundering, and smuggling, as well as other specific crimes.
