Zohra Driss is currently the Member of Tunisian Parliament for Sousse. She is also in the Executive office of Nidaa Tounes the political party currently in power. She has been Vice Mayor of Sousse from 1990 to 2010.Zohra received a Bachelor in Agronomic Engineering in Tunis in 1982. The following year, she started to work in the hotel industry in Tunisia. She is now the Group Chief Executive of 3 hotels in Sousse. She has been the Vice President of the UTICA (Tunisian Organization of employers) from 1995 to 2010 and the Treasurer of the Women's Organisation of Tunisia in the 1990s.
1. What is your current position?
I am currently member of the Tunisian Parliament and the Group Chief Executive of a number of hotels.
2. What are your proudest achievements?
I am extremely proud to be the first woman in Tunisia to have built her own hotel and to have managed it since 25 years. Plus, I am proud that I was able to manage the construction of the Imperial Marhaba and the education of my children. In fact, my second child Youssef was dyslexic and needed a lot of help. He is now in London and has been successful at university.
3. What inspires you?
I get a lot of satisfaction and inspiration when I feel I can help women to improve their conditions in Tunisia. The condition of women in Tunisia is better than all the other Arab countries. But, I think there is much more to do especially in education, social and economic fields.
4. What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
Without any doubt, the biggest obstacle in my career has been the terrorist attack in the hotel that I own in Sousse.
5. Who has been the biggest influence in your career?
In my career, I have been influenced by Habib Bourguiba (Tunisia first President who played a huge role in giving women their freedom) and by my parents. My father and my mother gave my brother and my sisters the same responsibilities, the same consideration in the workplace and at home. This was not very common 50 years ago in an Arab country. My father is a fantastic man who built one of the first hotels in Tunisia. We owe our success to his determination, honesty and management skills. He was a real source of motivation and trusted us to follow his business paths.
6. What is the best aspect of your role?
The best aspect in my role is to be able to help poor people, try to improve women condition and do my best to bring the best education to the children in Tunisia. I believe that a better education can be very powerful to change a country. It teaches people ethics andvalues like entrepreneurship, tolerance, determination.
7. And the worst?
The worst aspect in my role is to finally find out that that there is so much more to do when you think you just finished. I wish we had more than 24 hours per day.
8. What are your long term goals?
It is to keep fighting for women freedom, more economic growth in Tunisia and better education for everyone. It is to have Tunisia as a model in Africa and the Arab World.
9. If you were prime minister, what aspect would you change?
If I were prime minister, I would fight corruption in the judicial system and the administration. I would make sure nobody is above the law.
10. If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time and why?
I would spend my time with Mother Theresa so we can share together the joy that we feel when we help others without asking for anything back. My biggest joy is to see that I contributed positively in others’ lives.
