Court makes landmark 'slave tag' ruling

A Tunisian court has allowed an 81-year-old man to remove a word from his name that marked him out as a descendant from slaves, in the country’s first ruling of its kind. The country abolished slavery in 1846, but critics say it has not done enough to address racism against black Tunisians, who make up 10-15% of the population and are mostly descended from slaves. The Guardian reports that campaigners said the case brought by Hamden Dali would open the door for others who wanted to drop the word ‘atig’, or ‘liberated by’, which originally denoted a freed slave. His lawyer, Hanen Hassena, said the association with slavery was 'an assault on human dignity' and the man’s adult children had faced discrimination because of the name.