As Reuters reported, thousands of Tunisian women marched in the capital, Tunis, Monday night, to protest a provision in the new Islamist government's draft constitution describing women as “complementary to men.†The 6,000 protesters pledged to defend the equality under the law they have enjoyed since Tunisia adopted its Code of Personal Status on Aug. 13,1956.
Video of the march posted on YouTube by the Tunisian blog Nawaat showed protesters chanting for “freedom and feminist dignity,†and carrying banners and placards calling for “equality with men†and “preserving the gains of women.†One marcher held a sign noting that when police officers beat demonstrators, they do so “with no differentiation between man and woman.â€
In an essay published by Nawaat on Wednesday, Farhat Othman argued that pressure from Muslim fundamentalists on the moderate Islamist government to remove protections for women are “a rearguard battle by minority communities seeking to impose by whatever means purely sexist and biased†laws unrelated to Islam's founding principles.
