• November 1, 2006
  • 10 minutes read

War against veil is launched to hide political economic corruption in Tunisia

War against veil is launched to hide political economic corruption in Tunisia

Tunisian Veil Defense Committee reporter to IkwanWeb:

War against veil is launched to hide political economic corruption in Tunisia

Tunisian arena witnesses an organized campaign against the Muslim woman’s veil since President Ali Zainul Abedeen undertook the rule, to the extent that any Tunisian woman dares to wear veil she would be fired or exempted from her education or work.

In the recent days, there is a strict campaign launched against Muslim Woman’s veil, this comes at the same time of the speeches delivered by the leaders of the ruling part where they mock and attack woman’s veil calling it “backwardness and ignorance”.

Ikwan on web interviewed Mrs. Hasiba Suailami the Tunisian veil Defense Committee reporter who is living in Germany like many Tunisian opposing powers.

First we want to know about the committee and its goals?

First, thank you very much for Ikhwan web’s efforts in the issue of veil in Tunisia, the committee is a free initiative from the part of some Tunisian women living in Germany in order to back the Tunisian woman in her battle for her freedom and her right to wear her Islamic uniform that she decided to wear.

We can determine the goals of the committee as follows:

– Backing the Tunisian woman right to be free in taking her uniform without the interference of police and governmental bodies.

– Establishing good ties with media in order to expose those terrible repressive practices

– Inviting all scientific bodies and those concerned with human rights to back the persecuted Tunisian woman in seizing her personal freedom.

– Appealing to all Muslim scholars to clarify the right legal judgment in the issue

– To call all media men and sociologists to clarify the falseness of the government claims that veil is a “sectarian uniform”.

– Establishing lobbies to convince the Tunisian government to abandon its campaign against veil.

Tunisia, since President Ali Zainul Al-Abedeen became the ruler, is facing a fierce campaign against veil, so what are the efforts and means set by the committee in order to face the campaign?

There are several means to expose the campaign, among which:

-collecting all authentic proofs from inside Tunisia about the sweeping persecution perpetrated against women in all scientific and occupational posts.

– Collecting all fatwa and religious opinions in this Islamic issue.

– Receiving all direct complaints submitted by Tunisian women who faced brutal actions perpetrated against them.

– Collecting all data about the general conspiracy to eradicate religiosity in Tunisia and every thing related to quelling of Islamic rites like veil.

-The well organization and tactful preparation for all of these steps

– Updating media with all information.

– Prompting the scientific and social interviews about the issue

– Inviting all scholars and media men to show due care for the issue and clarify rights.

– Inviting all Muslims and all free non-Muslims all over the world to back the Tunisian woman in her ordeal.

– Collecting all kinds of supports and bringing it before the government as a kind of pressure in order to abandon its persecuting campaign against freedom.

– Establishing ties with all Islamic societies and human rights’ centers.

What are the real reasons that stand before this campaign against woman’s veil?

There are many motives that stand before the campaign, they are as follows:

– The failure of the conspiracy of regime to extirpate religiosity and all Islamic rites through the last two decades.

– The appearance of a religious revival since two decades.

– The attempts of the government to hide its political, economic and cultural dilemmas that it can not find a way out

– The panic of the extremist leftist circles who are able to penetrate the government and its ruling party, because of the unprecedented Islamic revival

– Offering acceptable cessions from the government’s part to the western headquarters who are obsessed by the so-called war against terrorism.

How do the Tunisian women live inside Tunisia, is there really true freedom or is it only the freedom of taking off the veil only?

Tunisian woman survives under political and religious despotism since the reign of Bourgiba who wanted to apply a westernized secular ideology by force like that of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey. Despite all the adversaries, the Tunisian woman never surrendered; she seized her rights for education in all fields, working and getting acquainted with all kinds of culture, so she was qualified enough to face all policies of exemption and cultural westernization. Tunisian woman struggled in all fields; political organizations, syndicates, and social bodies until she was able to gain the least of rights.

Tunisian woman stood steadfast for half a century, she was able to confront Bourguiba was undertaking by himself the removal of veils off the heads of women, we have a live documented videos for him.

When Bourguiba failed to quell religiosity that started to resurge at the early eighties, he enacted a law that prevents woman from covering some of parts from her body like the head and hair, known as the Declaration 108.

Tunisian woman stood steadfast and insisted on her choice to wear veil and abide by her religious rites, especially at the beginning of every academic year, where security launches a campaign against veiled women.

The next president followed the same way of the predecessor; he insisted to extirpate all Islamic rites and quell religiosity. He wanted to apply by force the Declaration 108 where he detained several numbers of women, tortured them; we have documents to prove that.

His plan failed as well especially with the revival of Islamic rites, he increased his campaign against veiled women this year at the beginning of the academic year and also because of Ramadan month. Tunisian woman is in a state of resistance and struggle.

How do human rights organization look upon the issue of veil, Is there any international reaction with the matter?

In fact, all international reactions were positive and sincere ones because they are aware of the black record of Tunisia in human rights.

Among the honorific stances was that of the International union for Muslim Scholars headed by Dr. Al-Qaradawi, where on the fringe of the second session in Istanbul, there was a special notes about the event of desecrating of the Holy Qur’an in some Tunisian prison.

The head of the union said in one of the programs that we should support the Tunisian woman in her ordeal.

European Union renounced the fierce campaign against religiosity in Tunisia, also the stance of the Mufti of Jerusalem, there are many people and bodies backed us but we can update you later with other names and figures.

How can the Committee get information and true data, do the committee has cadres inside Tunisia?

We are provided with information and figures by our relatives and friends because we, Tunisians living there have ties with our people inside the country and they update us with all events, besides, we collect most information from the authentic news circulated in all media channels and the internet, nowadays, the world became a small village where nothing can be secret.

Does the committee have ties with Tunisian opposing parties?

The committee is an independent body, it has no membership or ties with any parties whether inside or abroad, but this does not keep us from establishing good ties and co-operation with all parties and bodies in order to exchange information, reports and studies in order to maintain co-ordination in the struggle against the political freedoms whether public or private in Tunisia.