Women hoping for voice in Tunisia elections

Despite the pro-democracy movement in Tunisia which has promised a new era of freedom for the people, there has been no guarantee those freedoms will continue to include women.

TUNIS, TUNISIA (Catholic Online) - Not long after the dust of revolution began to settle in Tunisia a gender parity law was introduced into the national assembly. The goal of the new law has been to ensure that women will be represented in the new legislative assembly.

However, a forceful conservative movement has been calling for the exclusion of women from the political process. Numerous women spoke to reporters and explained their hopes and concerns for the political future of their country.

Islam Boubaher, a 25-year-old student of engineering joined the pro-democracy Islamic movement as soon as the uprising started. She has since worked as a volunteer throughout the election process. Boubaher said, "Some people are convinced by al-Nahda (the conservative party), others are not. Some women are worried that they won't be able to work and that they will be forced to stay at home. But this isn't al-Nahda's position, otherwise I wouldn't be out here campaigning for them."

Boubaher told reporters that she hopes to start her own business after graduating from university.
Sana Charnin is a little less optimistic. She is concerned that if the conservative al-Nahda wins a majority in the assembly, her hopes for gender equality could be dashed. She told reporters, "I will be voting for the PDM (Democratic Modernist Coalition) because it's a democratic coalition of several parties, and because they support freedom of expression and freedom of religion. I'm very afraid, there is a real risk from the Islamists. There's only one party that scares me, al-Nahda," she said. "Our family is very open. We are Muslim, but open-minded and modern."

Mounia Jameleddine and Kalthoum Triki were two women who co-founded the Karama Association last April. The association's goal is to represent women throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.  "We're working to achieve complete equality between men and women, and to reach out to women who have no idea about their rights and  accept their fate," Jameleddine said. Triki added, We believe in democracy and in women's progress. We want to maintain the rights we already have and to go further."

The women are hopeful that they can see change in the way the country is governed, however, many women are skeptical. There is a deep and substantial cynicism that results from years of rigged elections under the former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Many distrust the political process.

There is some hope that Tunisia will remain a country where women have voice, but it is an uncertain matter. Many ultra-conservatives belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir party are boycotting the election. This is because Tunisian authorities refused to authorize them as a party. The party wants to strip women of their rights, and unite all Islamic countries under a single Muslim leader.

Fortunately, the party commands the loyalty of only a small minority within the nation. However, it shows that ultra conservative, and potentially radical elements still exist even following the Arab Spring, and that they too are looking to take advantage of the upheaval to propagate their philosophy.

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