Women's rights activist The activist, Ikram Ben Said helped Tunisian women to find their voices when she stood firm among a crowd of thousands of protestors, on 14 January 2011, the day President Zine el-Abedin Ben Ali fled into exile and the Arab Spring had begun. The collapse of the plutocratic regime lifted the lid on political participation in Tunisia a nation of 10 million. Political parties proliferated and civil society groups, once heavily restricted, flourished. After the revolution she founded Aswat Nissa (Women's Voices), an organisation dedicated to supporting the participation of women in political process. Ben Said is unsalaried president of Aswat Nissa. Her regular job is senior programme manager for Search for Common Ground, an international non-profit agency that allows her to focus on women's empowerment. Before the revolution Ben Said was teaching at a university and volunteering at a shelter for single mothers.