Tunisia's President Kais Saied accused of 'failed dictatorship' during protests

Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Sunday in the capital, against what they said was a power grab by President Kais Saied.

The Tunisian leader has been accused of imposing one-man rule in the North African country, after he dissolved parliament last month.

Protesters shouted "get out" at the rally organised by the Ennahda party, which dominated the now-dissolved parliament, and the "Citizens Against the Coup" movement.

Last month, more than half of the members of parliament held an online session to revoke Mr Saied's decrees as a political crisis worsened.

"We are facing a failed dictatorship that is leading the country to an economic disaster. We will continue to protest in the streets until a coup is forced to reverse its decisions," said activist Chaima Issa, Reuters reported.

Members of parliament participated in the protest on Sunday, which took place amid a heavy presence of anti-riot police.

Protesters chanted: "The people want to overthrow the coup."

A woman holds up a banner during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied, in Tunis. AP

Samira Chaouchi, one of two Deputy Speakers of Parliament, said: "We will continue to resist the coup and we will not retreat. We will not accept this dictatorship."

After last month's online session, which Mr Saied dissolved, anti-terrorism police summoned the main opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi and other lawmakers for questioning, prompting criticism from abroad as well as at home.

Mr Ghannouchi, who is Speaker of Parliament and head of the Ennahda party, said more online sessions would be convened.

A delegation from the European Parliament will visit Tunisia on Monday to urge a return to the democratic transition that began after the 2011 revolution, which ended the autocratic rule of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

'Traitors and thieves'

Mr Saied took control of executive power in the middle of last year and has ruled by decree, moves that his opponents describe as a coup.

He has rejected the accusations and said he would hold talks on political reforms, but that "traitors and thieves" would not participate.

He has previously said he would form a committee to rewrite the constitution, put it to a referendum in July and then hold parliamentary elections in December.

The country's two main parties Ennahda and Free Constitutional, which are bitterly opposed, have both said they will oppose those plans.

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.