Tunis: Feminist Organization Says Veiled Women Persecuted

A 60 years old woman, reported a message sent to Ikhwanweb, was walking down a street in the Tunisian capital when two security officers stopped her and asked her why she wore the hijab (veil), reminding her of the Tunisian president’s recent statements banning wearing the veil. The two officers ordered her to take her veil off but she refused; so, one of them pulled her veil by force and the women reacted by shouting at them.


The message said that the two offices kept on beating the woman until she fell to the ground under the nose of the passersby. According to the message, the woman is a poor one and she has been working as a house maid when this incident happened, forcing her to stay at home.
It is worth noting that persecution against the veiled women in Tunis is going on unabated. In an exclusive statement to Ikhwanweb, Head of the Germany- based  Committee for Defending Tunisian Woman’s Veil, Hassiba Swelmi, said that the committee condemns such barbarian acts perpetrated by the regime’s services and ” we reiterate our support for the Tunisian veiled women’s right to wear whatever they like, since this falls under personal freedoms of people enshrined in the law and constitution”, she said.


Swelmi appealed to all Tunisian civil society organizations, including human rights agencies, to stand up to these violations and expose the perpetrators, saying that this act on the part of the authorities is a flagrant violation of human rights and disregard of the Muslims’ religious doctrines. She also urged the Tunisian veiled women to stand firm with their veil and exercise their rights enshrined in international laws and norms.