Tunisia’s Kerkennah Islands: Where Women Quietly Ran the Show

Off Tunisia’s east coast, the Kerkennah Islands seem quiet at first glance. Small, sun-drenched, and dotted with fishing boats, they might look like any Mediterranean archipelago. But for centuries, they quietly flipped the script on gender. While men spent months at sea, chasing the Mediterranean’s unpredictable bounty, women ran the islands. They oversaw the salt flats, managed money, and even built homes from seaweed and clay. Life depended on their leadership.  Today, the islands still carry the imprint of that matrifocal legacy. Markets bustle under women’s watchful eyes, families thrive in structures shaped by generations of female leadership, and local traditions bear the subtle authority of those who kept society moving. Visiting Kerkennah isn’t just about turquoise waters or sun-baked streets—it’s a journey into a society that quietly defied expectations, reminding us that power doesn’t always need to be loud, and sometimes the most revolutionary systems are the ones that simply work.