Under President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia came to be
known as the most secular country of the Arab world. As far back as 1956, when
Tunisia gained independence from France, laws were established to give women
equal rights under the law. However, in Mr. Ben Ali’s regime there was a strict
intolerance to any kind of religious law, especially Islamic culture. 1981 saw the passing of a decree that banned
women from wearing a traditional veil in public places. Veiled women were once
harassed on the street, but it seems that times in Tunisia are changing. Ben
Ali’s regime has fallen and the Ennahda party, and Islamic group, has dominated
elections since October of 2011. After years of being harassed and oppressed,
the Islamists are starting to make changes to the constitution; women’s rights
are now taking a serious hit. Many advancements in women’s rights, such as
equal inheritance rights, are seen as immoral to the Islamic majority. A
religious majority in the government “prevents any entrepreneurial initiative
for women”; now that the dictatorship is no longer pro-women, women are less
confident in pursuing the things they had previously been allowed to. Tunisian women,
who previously did not have to fight for their rights, are confronted with a
new struggle.
This is a very interesting case. On the one hand, we see an
extreme oppression of religious expression. It is not moral to tell someone
they cannot wear religious garments, just as in the USA no one is condemned for
wearing a cross around his/her neck. While the equal rights to education and
career options pushed Tunisia towards modernity, the government crushed religious
expression. Currently, however, the opposite end of the spectrum is asserting
itself. Taking away already established rights for women is equally immoral,
and regressive to the country’s development. Tunisia is facing an issue of
finding middle ground, something the USA also struggles with. We do not have a
dictatorship, though, and our constitution is not as easily changed. Many
developing countries founded as theocracies eventually encounter the dilemma of
where to cut tradition. It is immoral to deny women basic human rights, but the
Islamic religion has inequality deeply rooted in it. I think Tunisia is in
desperate need of separating church and state. Although we have issues with
that in the USA ,as well, they tend not to be so extreme.
2/26/13 3:50pm
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