TUNIS — A
Ramadan TV series dealing with polygamy has
sparked a heated debate in Tunisia, an Arab pioneer in women’s rights that
banned the practice decades ago.
اضافة اعلان
“Baraa” (Arabic for “innocence”) has also been
criticized by rights activists and secular politicians for its portrayal of
customary “orfi” marriage, religious unions not sanctioned by the state.
Both practices are punishable by up to a year in
prison under the country’s 1956 family code.
But in one episode, the series’ main character,
Wannas, declares to his wife and children that he has the right to marry a
second woman under Islamic law, which “trumps all other laws”.
The series, aired at prime time after observant
Muslims break their daytime fast, has sparked a backlash on social media.
“It’s disappointing to see these subjects being
debated,” said Tunisian actress Mariem Ben Hussein.
Post-independence leader Habib Bourguiba outlawed
polygamy in the family code passed just five months after the country’s 1956
independence from France, a piece of legislation that was nothing short of
revolutionary in the
Arab world at the time.
It also changed the law so that divorce cases had to
go through the courts, meaning a husband could no longer simply declare a
marriage over.
‘Out of the question’
Tunisia’s 2011 revolt, which
overthrew Bourguiba’s successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, brought in a
parliamentary system ideologically divided between secularists and
Islamist-leaning parties such as Ennahdha.
The strongly
secular
Free Destourian Party (PDL) founded by former members of Ben Ali’s
ruling party has been one of the loudest voices against “Baraa”, saying that
“putting these questions back on the table is out of the question” and an
affront to women’s dignity.
The PDL also blames
Ennahda, politically dominant after the 2011 revolt, for a rise in “crimes”
under the family code and has frequently called for its rival to be dissolved.
Rights group Aswat
Nissa (“Women’s Voices”) said polygamy and customary marriage were “forms of
violence against women” and that discussing them “normalizes a culture of
impunity”.
The group has urged
the country’s broadcast regulator to take the program off the air.
But sociologist
Mohamed Jouil said the series does “not necessarily reflect Tunisian society”.
“Talking about
polygamy and orfi marriage doesn’t threaten the gains that women have made,” he
told AFP.
Jouil added that
many
Tunisians happily discuss such issues in private but are angered when they
are aired in public — where commentators are “instrumentalizing” the issue for
political gain.
‘Subject of debate’
Civil servant Nadia Abdelhak agreed.
“The overreactions
to the series are trying to convince people that everything related to Islam is
backwards,” the 28-year-old said.
Sociologist Foued
Ghorbali said that while the subject remains taboo, polygamy is still an issue
in Tunisia.
After Islamist
movements grew following the 2011 revolt, “religious marriage became more
common” particularly among university students looking for “halal” sex, he
added.
“Some Tunisians
support customary marriage,” he said.
The justice
ministry said courts examined 1,718 cases of orfi marriage between 2015 and
2020 in the country of 12 million people.
Moreover, the
freedom of speech that came with the end of Ben Ali’s dictatorship allowed
people in favor of such practices to openly say so.
In early 2018, a
group of women held a protest to demand the re-legalization of polygamy.
Such controversies
ought to be reflected in the arts, Ghorbali said.
“It’s not the role of drama to present a positive image of
society. It can show a point of view or phenomena in society that could be a
subject of debate,” he said.
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