Tunisia
Modesty for women is an imperative component of the Muslim society. This component is stressed by the Qur’an; which governs the way in which all Muslims are to live their lives. As such, in order to adhere to the words of the Qur’an, Muslim women wear a veil which covers their head; known as a hijab. The hijab is worn by Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of non-related adult males. The hijab also goes much deeper than merely being a covering for Muslim women to wear; in that the veil embodies a metaphysical dimension, whereby the veil represents the separation of man/the world from God. Such is the depth to which Muslim women regard the wearing of the hijab. However, despite their zeal to obey the central religious text of Islam, a myriad of Muslim women around the world are presently undergoing or have in the past undergone much prejudice and discrimination with regard to the wearing of the hijab. Several countries have taken drastic measures with regard to the hijab; one of the countries in question is Tunisia.
Despite being a Muslim-majority country (98% of the country is Muslim), Tunisia has not always looked kindly on the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women. For many years the hijab has been an issue within Tunisia; dating back to 1981 when the wearing of the hijab was banned. Tunisian authorities defended their actions by encouraging women, instead, to wear modest dress in line with Tunisian traditions, as opposed to wearing the hijab. Women who wore the hijab were banned in schools and government buildings; whilst those who insisted on wearing the hijab were faced with losing their jobs. Back in 1981, confrontation between the Tunisian government and Islamists was at its height, as authorities deemed the hijab as a sectarian dress.
The actions of the government in 1981 was again emulated in 2006 when the authorities launched a campaign against the hijab, banning it in some public places, where police would stop women on the streets and ask them to remove it, and encourage them not to wear it again.
Much of the reason behind Tunisia’s anti-hijab stance was due to the threat of Islamic fundamentalists, which in turn could have lead to extremism. This view stems from the then notorious dictator of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. When in power, Ben Ali strengthened legal restrictions on the hijab and Islamic dress, as he deemed the Hijab as a sectarian form of dress, which had come into Tunisia uninvited. He believed that it was extremists who had been urging women to wear traditional garments; thereby exploiting religion for political purposes. As such, Ben Ali believed that banning the hijab was a policy that rejected extremists from all sides and aimed to foster moderation and tolerance.
Ultimately, this was an attempt by the government to rein in any threat to their power; for they believed that if they were to allow women to adherently follow this idea of hijab-wearing, that would pave the way for women and others members of the Islamic community to further follow other Islamic doctrine that may bring Tunisia into disrepute. Ben Ali and his government believed that allowing the wearing of the hijab would make the Islamic community more susceptible to indoctrination, and ultimately believed that banning the hijab would go a long way to curtailing the potential of such.
Moreover, this ban on hijab-wearing was a law that endeavoured to anchor Tunisia in modernity. This was again a notion that was adopted by Ben Ali and his government. By having this stance, the authorities were insinuating that wearing the hijab was a dated practice; and if Tunisia is to keep in line with the forever evolving nature of society, the country must do away with old practices. This quote by Mongia Souaïhi, a Tunisian academic, really sums up this point, ‘whereas long ago, in the era of Mohammed, Islam’s revered prophet, face- or body-covering garments prescribed for women served to differentiate the slave from the mistress, there have not been slaves or masters in Tunisia in a long time, but rather human beings, men or women, free and equal...The habit doesn’t make the monk, right?’ Souaïhi tries to make us understand that long past are the days when certain practices are required by Muslims to do. She goes further to accentuate the notion that habits do not make a Muslim a Muslim, but the belief in Islam itself.
The secretary-general of Ben Ali’s ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally political party echoes this idea posed by Souaïhi. He states that, ‘If we accept today the wearing of the headscarf, tomorrow we’ll be led to accept that a woman’s right to work, to vote and to education should be denied, and that she should be confined to a procreating role.’ With this statement, the secretary-general is stressing the idea that Tunisia is no longer the same country that it was many years ago. He is explaining the notion that if the hijab is allowed to be worn, this would signify anti-progression in Tunisia; moving back to the times when women were solely called to give birth and take care of the family; whilst having no rights or suffrage.
Furthermore, Ben Ali and his government regime were said to have been crushing Islam in Tunisia while at the same time trying to avoid charges of being un-Islamic. In the 1990s President Ben Ali crushed Tunisia’s Islamic opposition party when fighting erupted in neighbouring Algeria between Islamic movements and the military Government. He stipulated that only personnel appointed by the Government may lead activities in mosques and mosques were to remain closed except during prayer times and other authorized religious ceremonies, such as marriages or funerals. Such was the government’s general viewpoint on Islam at the time; as result, they adopted a ruthless stance on the hijab.
However, all of this changed when the Tunisian Revolution occurred on January, 2011. This Revolution sparked a monumental change in Tunisia; which eventually led to the ousting of Ben Ali, after 23 years of his dictatorship. The revolution was an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations; this lead to a thorough democratisation of the country and to free and democratic elections; which saw the rise of Islamic parties. The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of freedom of speech, a lack of political freedoms and poor living conditions. These demonstrations ultimately led to the ban on the hijab being lifted, as the country where 98% of its population are Muslim, were now given the power to exercise their faith as thoroughly as they deemed fit.
I believe that it is an utter shame that in a country like Tunisia, such events surrounding the hijab have manifested. Considering the fact that 98% of Tunisia is Muslim, it seems absurd to me that taking such drastic measures against a key component of Islam could actually have been a possibility, let alone a manifestation. I believe that because wearing a hijab is a vital part of being an Islamic woman, no measures should ever be taken to infringe on their beliefs. Conversely, I do understand to an extent the worries of Ben Ali and his government, with regard to extremism; in that they wanted to avoid any potential of fundamentalist/extreme views seeping into greater divisions within the Islamic society. Nevertheless, I do not believe that banning the hijab was the answer to this potential risk. If anything, this may have pushed Muslims more towards the fundamentalist side, in their efforts to defy the government and hold even firmly to their faith.
References
Gomez, Edward M. (Oct 20 at 12:00am) Muslim headscarf banned – in an Islamic country http://blog.sfgate.com/worldviews/2006/10/20/muslim-headscarf-banned-in-an-islamic-country/, Retrieved 03/20/13
Abdelhadi, Magdi (26 September 2006 at 7:23pm) Tunisia attacked over headscarves http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5382946.stm, Retrieved 03/20/13
Saleh, Heba (15 October 2006 at 8:28pm) Tunisia moves against headscarves http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6053380.stm, Retrieved 03/20/13
Ridley, Yvonne (January 21, 2011) Hijab makes a return in Tunisia http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/01/21/hijab-makes-a-return-in-tunisia/, Retrieved 03/20/13