A notable presence of elected women wearing the veil in Tunisia's Constituent Assembly
Summary: Author Z.A. notes that “Tuesday, the hemicycle of the Palais du Bardo counted more veiled women, for the most part elected from the Islamist Ennahdha party, than non-veiled women. The revolution has passed through here.”
Z.A. wonders in an opening abstract, “Should we congratulate ourselves or see in that [presence of veiled women] a threatening change [changement porteur de menaces]?”
Z.A. further editorializes in a comment on Saïda Agrebi, the former president of the Tunisian Association of Mothers and currently in hiding, who is also responsible for the slogan, “God is one, God is one, Nobody can match Ben Ali” [Allahou ahad, Allahou ahad, Ben Ali ma kifou had]. Z.A. writes that Agrebi “and her colleagues must not appreciate” the presence of such a significant number of veiled women in government.
The very fact that Kapitalis considered as newsworthy the presence of veiled women in government is worth noting. The veil ban in public buildings under deposed president Ben Ali, along with the aggression of veiled women wrought by various arms of his administration, has been visibly overturned in the post-January 14th era, where an Islamist majority also finds itself in the newly-elected Constituent Assembly.
Original Language Text:
L’ouverture des travaux de l’Assemblée constituante, mardi, au Palais du Bardo, a été marquée par une présence remarquée d’élues portant le voile. Faut-il s’en féliciter ou y voir un changement porteur de menaces ?
Le spectacle est assez inédit dans cet endroit qui était carrément interdit, sous l’ancien régime, aux femmes portant le voile.
Mardi, l’hémicycle du Palais du Bardo a compté davantage de femmes voilées, pour la plupart des élues du parti islamiste Ennahdha, que de femmes non voilées. La révolution est passée par là.
Les Saïda Agrebi, ancienne présidente de l’Association tunisienne des mères (l’auteur du slogan “Allahou ahad, Allahou ahad, Ben Ali ma kifou had”, aujourd’hui en fuite) et ses consoeurs ne doivent pas apprécier.
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