Emna Belhaj Yahia is a Tunisian author holding a degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Letters in Paris. She taught philosophy in Tunisia before becoming scientific director of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts. She has been active in a feminist group and the Tunisian Human Rights League. She has devoted herself to writing and novels since the early 90s. The 2011 revolution, but also, in the years that followed, the rise of conservative religious parties and the questioning by these parties of certain freedoms acquired by women, led her to a reflection that she formalized in particular in the book Tunisie, questions à mon pays (Éditions de l'Aube, Paris, 2014). She is also interested in the status of the French language among Maghrebi women novelists.

Her publications include L'Étage invisible (Joëlle Losfeld, Paris, 1997), Tasharej (Balland, Paris, 2000), Jeux de rubans (Elyzad, Tunis, 2011; Prix Comar d'or 2012), En pays assoiffé (Éditions Des femmes, Paris, 2021).

Photo: © Moncef Belhaj Yahia