2020-04-09 Thu

On 27th March 2020, the Banque Centrale de Tunisie (Bank of Tunisia) released new banknotes, which, for the first time in the modern history of the Arab world, feature a woman. The new 10-dinar banknote features a portrait of Dr. Tawhida ben Cheikh (1909–2010), who became the country’s first accredited female physician in Tunisia, as well as the first-ever female physician in North Africa.

Born in Tunis, Tunisia, at the time when Tunisia was a French colony, ben Cheikh came from an elite Tunisian family that was socially conservative. Ben Cheikh enrolled in the School of Medicine in Paris to pursue her education and earned a degree in medicine in 1936, thus, becoming her country’s first accredited female physician. For her efforts with the less-privileged, she was known as “the doctor of the poor” by her countrymen.

The banknote of Tunisia is printed on a cotton-based paper and is predominantly blue in color, measuring 148 x 73 mm. The face side of the note is dated as 20-03-2020 and includes a portrait of Dr. Tawhida ben Cheikh, which is based on an actual contemporary photograph. The backside includes a collection of pottery of Berber origin and an ornate bracelet. A background of stylized floral motifs and arabesque elements are also featured in the background.

Image Courtesy: Banque Centrale de Tunisie