Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee, All the Best. Can you remember a news story that

stopped you in your tracks, and you'll always remember where you were when you heard it? And I remember

a December day in 2010 when I pulled into a parking spot at Trader Joe's and heard on the radio

that a man in Tunisia had set himself on fire.

National Public Radio summarized the story this way. Quote,

Mohamed Bozizi's father had passed away when he was a child, so he had to start working at a

young age. His mom worked at a farm, making about $2 per day.

Mohamed used to get up at 3 a.m. to fill up his cart with fresh fruit and station

himself in front of the city hall to sell them. His job helped support the family. He sold

bananas, strawberries, grapes, whatever was in season. According to his sister, Leila, city officials constantly harassed Mohammed by confiscating his wares.

They said he needed to get a vendor's permit, which he couldn't afford.

He complained about this to his family, but pressed on because he needed to earn a living.

On December 17, 2010, the pressure became too much. After a municipal worker confiscated his

weight scale, Mohamed Boazizi got his hands on some gasoline and set himself on fire in front of

City Hall. Witnesses captured the aftermath on their cell phones and the videos spread online.

Shortly after his self-immolation,

protests erupted in Tunisia. People called for better living conditions, jobs, and dignity.

Soon the movement spread to Egypt, where huge demonstrations led to the toppling of the government

and all over the Arab world. This movement in 2011 became known as the Arab Spring.

So as we've discussed so many times before on this podcast, oppressive systems tend to

interlock with one another. And the movement that began as a protest of untenable living conditions

and government bullying in Tunisia, soon included protests

...