Writer and essayist from Tunisia, she is a critical voice of decolonisation and post-independent Tunisian society.

She has a B.A. in Universities and taught literature at Tunis University before working at UNESCO as an international civil servant. In 1998, she founded the International College of Tunis, a space for open debate where Tunisian and international intellectuals were invited to take part in debates around culture and contemporary politics.  In her numerous essays, she speaks out against the new forms of arbitrariness post-independence, the regression of identity, and the dangers of radicalism. She has also dedicated several works to women, exploring themes such as the headscarf and secularisation of Islamic schools of thought. In 2016, she received the Prix Hervé Deluen from the Académie Française and was appointed Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour.

Her latest work, Dommage, Tunisie, La Depression Culturelle (Tracts Gallimard, 2019), analyses the post-revolutionary tensions in Tunisia. Alongside her literary activities, she directed the International College of Tunis, a place for debate and reflection on contemporary topics in Tunisia and the world, proof of her deep commitment to intellectual dialogue and the promotion of democracy.  Her involvement and dedication to expanding intellectual horizons makes her an emblematic figure of post-colonial thought.