Tunisia celebrates Olympics silver

Celebrations spread across Tunisia Monday night as Tunisian runner Habiba Gharibi) won the silver medal in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase at the London Olympics after achieving a personal best of 9:08.37. Pictures of the 28 year old runner dominated Tunisian social meda. One of the bloggers wrote: "What a beautiful free Tunisian woman without veil or niqab, just a modern determined woman who is crossing all barriers." Another blogger wrote:  "Habiba Gharibi has honored Tunisia and raised its flag in the skies of London. This is an example of a free Tunisian woman." In the same context, Maryam posted a tweet on her Twitter account saying: "this is a call, the National Constituent Assembly’s women, especially from the Ennahda movement”. A reference to the proposal made by the movement on women's rights, in which Ennahda MPs stressed the integration of men and women, while MPs from other blocs believed it as a form of regression and a retreat from basic principles such as equality. Runner Habiba Gharibi dedicated her medal to the people of Tunisia, saying in a statement after winning the silver medal “I dedicate my victory to the Tunisian people. I have trained hard for this race and exerted a lot of effort. The atmosphere was very competitive and I was expecting to get a medal and I am very happy to break my personal record. Those who exert their utmost, are rewarded at the end." "I thought that I am qualified to win the gold medal, but I was injured at the beginning of the year and had to wait to regain my form. I am very happy with the silver medal. It's a historical medal for Tunisians, especially for the women of Tunisia. I hope to go back to my homeland one day with a gold medal.” Habiba Gharibi’ medal is the second victory for Tunisia in the current Olympic Games after swimmer Oussama Mellouli won the bronze medal in men’s 1500-meter freestyle on Saturday.