WUNRN
MUSLIM WOMEN UNITE AGAINST SEXUAL
VIOLENCE & HARASSMENT
A major
grassroots campaign recently called international attention to the
underreported issues of sexual harassment and assault against women in Muslim
states.
By Jamel
Arfaoui for Magharebia in
[Jamel
Arfaoui] A |
Scores of women's
organisations from Africa, Europe, the Middle East and
As part of the "One
Day, One Struggle" simultaneous event on Wednesday (November 9th), public
demonstrations, film screenings, theatre performances and workshops were held
in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Palestine, Sudan, Turkey and Tunisia.
The global initiative aimed
at calling attention of Muslim societies to sexual abuse, genital mutilation,
honour killings, stoning or lashing of women and the "right to bodily and
sexual integrity of all people", the CSBR said.
The day was a declaration
of action against "all the reactionary forces that look to control,
dispose of and possess women's bodies", Sanaa
Benachour, the head of Tunisia's Association for Democratic Women, said at
a Tunis forum held to mark the event.
"We want to take some
steps to overcome social hypocrisy, cultural oppression and political coercion
and enable us to open a serious debate on sexual and physical rights,"
Benachour added.
Bodily rights include
protection from sexual harassment. The issue is of particular concern in
Harassment and sexual abuse
remain the most underreported and inadequately adjudicated of all crimes in
"The Penal Code needs
to be reviewed. It suffers from several drawbacks, especially as the Tunisian
legislation does not use the "sexual violence" term but rather talks
of rape crimes, public prostitution or obscenity," ben Mrad said.
While the penalty for rape
is a life sentence in
"The victim can't file
a complaint to the court directly; she has to file a complaint to the
prosecutor of the republic, who decides whether or not it is suitable for
referral to a judge. Even when it is, the victim could still be legally
prosecuted if the defendant is acquitted," he said.
Tunisian women complain
about having to endure frequent violations in the workplace and on the street.
"I suffer from
harassment every day, but cannot file a complaint because I can't provide the
necessary evidence, which could make me a defendant," said Sarah, a
teacher.
Meanwhile, National
Committee of Working Women coordinator Najoua Makhlouf provided testimonies
from female workers subjected to abuse, saying that "they are from humble
origins and need the factory jobs, and they sometimes find themselves forced to
give in to their superiors for fear of losing their livelihoods".
Last year, with the
assistance of women's rights committees, a female employee of a private hospital
dared to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against the hospital proprietor. The
court granted her justice and a compensation of 80,000 dinars. The owner ended
up shutting down his hospital, but the victim decided not to file a civil
lawsuit against him.
Bochra
Bel Haj Hmida, a lawyer and former president of the Tunisian Association
for Democratic Women, stressed the need for laws ensuring psychological and
social care for women and children victimised by sexual violence.
Hmida talked about a girl
who was first seduced by her boyfriend and then sexually assaulted by a group
of young men. The court ruled that the rape victim was engaged in prostitution
and handed her a prison term.
"We shouldn't stop at
punishing the guilty, but aim for a procedure for taking care of victims,"
Hmida said.