Controversy over revoking ban of marriage of Tunisian women to non-Muslims

The decision to abolish all texts banning the marriage of Tunisian women to non-Muslims has caused conflicting reactions in society. While some hailed what they termed a “real victory for women”, others considered it as a conventional “bourgeois law” irrelevant to the country’s women. On the subject, human rights activist, Ahlam Bousirwal, told BBC that revoking 1973 Decree is a huge achievement for women because the repealed ordinance is non-constitutional, illegal and contrary to United Nations conventions on marriage. Respecting a woman’s free choice of her spouse is the least that can be done, Bousirwal maintained, pointing out that not only Tunisian women living abroad are to benefit from the new decision, given that this category is automatically subject to the law of the country they are residents in, whereas mixed communities widespread in the North African stateis  not an innovation.” Bousirwal disclosed she has witnessed several cases in which women had to travel to Europe to complete their marriage contracts and return home to finalize the registration procedures. On the other hand, civil society activist, Sawsan Bin Sheikh, said that despite its significance, “this step by the government is not a priority for the Tunisian woman,” pointing to a gap between the Tunisian public and the civil society’s elite. She also mentioned the disparity in priorities between the marginalized, poverty-stricken areas on the one hand, and the coastal regions with the capital, on the other. Bin Sheikh concluded by saying that the decision uses the Tunisian woman as a vehicle to puff up the image of the regime in the West to show that women in Tunisia do not wear hijab, while concealing its real face of tyranny. (Al Diyar, September 17, 2017)

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