Source: The Guardian 
Growing up in a village in north-eastern Tunisia, Ahlam Ben Ahmad had to walk up to 4km to reach a hospital, buy food or attend school. She often got sick from the long journey, and dropped out of school two years before graduation because of her long commute.

"I woke up at 5am every day, carried my sick brother on my back and walked to school to reach it by seven," she says. "But I still carried my brother there every day because at least one of us nine had to finish school."

Fifteen years after Ben Ahmad, now 30, dropped out of school, the government has not improved the roads near her home. It still takes her several hours to travel from her hometown of Boucha to Kelibia, the nearest city. In a private vehicle, the same journey would take just 30 minutes.

Like Ben Ahmad, many women in rural Tunisia face long trips to access essential services, which are usually located in urban centres. But it's not just better road networks and health systems these women want. They want to improve women's rights at the national level and bring female leaders into their country's politics.

Tired of her grievances going unnoticed, Ben Ahmad now works on the Amal programme, which aims to increase rural women's and girls' awareness of their rights, and to empower them to play leading roles at the community, regional and national level.

Tunisia's women have a long struggle ahead of them. According to a recent study by the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), 40% of women in rural areas are illiterate, while 60% suffer from health problems, 93% of which are work-related. Just 10% had access to free healthcare.

Amal, which means "hope" in Arabic, is a three-year programme aimed at boosting women's access to power in the Middle East and north Africa. It has been rolled out in Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen and Palestine by Oxfam and 15 local organisations with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

"The overall goal of this programme is for women in the Middle East and north Africa region, including poor and marginalised women, to have increased ability to participate and exercise leadership at all levels of decision-making, gaining power over their lives and ensuring their practical needs and rights are central for existing and emerging governance structures," Oxfam said.

Tunisia's rural women, with support from local and international organisations, are trying to bring their ideas to the country's decision-makers.

On 17 March, women from five regions of Tunisia travelled to the capital, Tunis, to meet members of parliament and representatives of ministries for the first time, and raise the issue of female development priorities, which has been long-neglected. They also made their voices heard at the World Social Forum, which ran in Tunis from 24-28 March.

Ben Ahmad and other women in Azmour say they want easier and more transparent access to social services, and better roads between villages and urban centres. Most importantly, they want to establish a committee of local men and women to follow up on the progress and implementation of development projects in their region.

The women say they have always had strong opinions about how Tunisia should be governed, but until now didn't know how to influence the political system.

Through local organisations such as the League of Tunisian Women Voters (LET), the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, and the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development, Amal is working to empower rural and marginalised women with the skills, tools and knowledge to challenge political system in five of Tunisia's regions: Kef, Kasserine, Sousse, Ben Arous and Kelibia.

When they were approached by LET to help improve political representation, the women of Azmour were quick to engage. Through their advocacy process, Ben Ahmad and her neighbours found out that the local council for development in Azmour had already allocated budget for improving the roads in 2012, but implementation was put on hold. So they circulated a petition demanding its implementation and met with their local council last December. The government made promises, but they want more.

"We want action," says Ben Ahmad. "We have been silent for a long time, today we want to act. I want my children and grandchildren to go to school without getting sick. I want them to go out on weekends, and join clubs and enjoy their hobbies."

• Tunisia