Tunisia:Could women be the great losers

Tunisian women were among the first to speak up Tunis – Anan Akrouti When the Tunisian revolution began, Tunisian women were among the first to speak up, side by side with their male counterparts, taking place in the front rows; a situation typical of women at all levels of resistance the country witnessed, from civil societies movements to human rights organizations, demanding social justice and fair distribution of wealth, dreaming of exercising their rights as equal citizens.
Revolution broke out in Tunisia, and women took to the streets exposing themselves to bullets, and many of them were consequently martyred. They supported the revolution in a bid to see their rights and status improve.
As major actors in the rebellion that ousted former dictator Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisian women believed their role in the country’s future would improve and saw the revolution as an opportunity to better their lives.
However with the election of Islamist party Ennahda, many today fear a return to the old ways of traditional Tunisia were women had few rights and were regarded as second rate citizens.
The Personal Status Code, introduced by H’bib Bourguiba and which outlawed polygamy and allowed women equal rights was a first in the Arab world and Tunisian women have always been very proud of their status in the region.
Today however, Rached Ghannouchi’s party, is threatening to abolish the law on polygamy and change the laws on adoption in favour of a more conservative code of legal practice.
One notable event was a face off organised in early December in which secular Tunisian opposed Islamist militants outside universities to protest over pressur being exercised on women to adopt an Islamic dress code.
While remained relatively peaceful, the face off revealed the challenge Tunisian women face today. The country is now openly divided between those who support a conservative version of the country and those who would like to see the advances gained from the country’s previous regime to be maintained.
Tunisian women have always been at the forefront of the battle for democracy and human rights and Ennahda’s inclusion of several women in its party that do not were the hidjab is an indication of the country’s strong equalitarian roots.
No doubt the challenges ahead will reveal the country’s contradictions in embrassing both a conservative agenda while maintaining its profoundly liberal identity.