Jalila Hafsia

Jalila Hafsia (جليلة حفصية; 17 October 1927 – 10 August 2023) was a Tunisian writer who published one of the first Tunisian novels written in French.

Biography
Jalila Hafsia was born in M'saken on 17 October 1927. After receiving her education she worked for several cultural institutions, eventually serving as director of the Tahar Haddad Cultural Club, a prominent cultural club often associated with women writers. In 1975 she published Ash at Dawn (Cendres à l’aube), one of the first novels by a Tunisian woman to be written in French.

Hafsia was an admirer of Simone de Beauvoir, with whom she corresponded. In 2019 she was named a grand officer of the Tunisian Order of the Republic for her cultural achievements.

Jalila Hafsia died on 10 August 2023, at the age of 95.