The Compass

My Perfect Country: 'State Feminism' in Tunisia


Listen Later

Tunisia comes under the spotlight, because it is rewriting the rules about what women can and can’t do in an Islamic country. Should it be a role model for its Muslim neighbours?

Women have more rights in Tunisia than in any other Islamic country. Since independence in 1956, the Code of Personal Status banned polygamy, gave women almost the same rights in law as men - the freedom to divorce them - and the right to be educated. Following this came the right to vote, stand for office, set up a business, demand equal pay, and the right to an abortion eight years before American women won their right to choose.
But has society kept pace with these advances in the law? A recent report indicating that 53% of Tunisian women experience violent attacks in their lifetime suggests legal equality is only part of the story.
Based on the testimonies and experience of women (and some men) recorded in Tunisia, including rapper Boutheina ‘Medusa’ El Alouadi and Sayida Ounissi, deputy minister for employment, the team debate whether Tunisia’s ‘state feminism’ joins the My Perfect Country portfolio with the help of Dina Mansour-Ille from the Institute for Overseas Development.

(Photo: Tunisian women, one (L) wearing a 'burkini', at Ghar El Melh beach near Bizerte, north-east of Tunis. Credit: Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The CompassBy BBC World Service

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

98 ratings


More shows like The Compass

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,456 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

364 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,801 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

153 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,647 Listeners

Crossing Continents by BBC Radio 4

Crossing Continents

76 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,755 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,090 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

348 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

891 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

962 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

272 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,082 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,046 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

727 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

232 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

358 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

404 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

478 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,198 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,007 Listeners

Homeschool History by BBC Radio 4

Homeschool History

669 Listeners

The Climate Question by BBC World Service

The Climate Question

171 Listeners

Journey Through Time by Goalhanger

Journey Through Time

433 Listeners