Women’s Rights in Tunisia and the Democratic Renegotiation of an Authoritarian Legacy

Since the 2011 revolution, Tunisia has been negotiating what it is to become, a processof rebirth in which women’s rights is key. The ongoing debates reflect a confrontation betweenthe feminist policies of Habib Bourguiba (the first president of the Tunisian republic) andalternative notions of women’s rights. In this article, I examine the debates that are currentlytaking place in Tunisia. I argue that the topic of women’s rights is crucial in the power strugglebetween the political elites within Tunisia. It is symbolic of the much wider battle over the future of the country. Moreover, the legislative outcomes of the debates are indicative for the postrevolutionary political dynamics, showing the strength of so-called secularists

Formalising the informal through legal practice. The case of prostitution in authoritarian Tunisia

This article explores the dynamics of the law in action beyond the binary formal/informal, using Tunisian jurisprudence in the field of prostitution as a case study. It examines what the formal/informal distinction means in an authoritarian context where formal norms contrast significantly with informal norms: do judges apply the formal norm, or do they apply the informal one, and if so, how do they justify this? This article argues that judges instrumentalise a formal norm (i.e. the ban on prostitution) to impose an informal one (prohibiting extra-marital sex). As a result, the norm prohibiting extra-marital sex can no longer be situated in the formal/informal divide: it is not informal, as judges are State officials punishing the violation of this norm; and it is not formal either, since the norm does not form part of legislation and Tunisian judges, exercising their profession in a civil law country, do not make law

The Tunisian Law on Violence against Women

In 2017, Tunisia issued the law on violence against women. Both Islamists and non-Islamists were in favor of the law, which was adopted with unanimity by the Tunisian Parliament. Such a development challenges the literature on regime change and women’s rights, which warns for a rollback after regime change. This article examines the limits of the consensus on this new law and the arguments mobilized in the debates.En 2017, la Tunisie a adopté la loi contre la violence à l’égard des femmes. Tous les partis politiques, islamistes inclus, ont soutenu cette réforme, qui a ensuite été adoptée à l’unanimité par le Parlement tunisien. Un tel développement remet en question la thèse mise en avant par la littérature sur les droits des femmes, selon laquelle un changement de régime risque de produire un retour en arrière. Cet article étudie les limites du consensus autour de la nouvelle loi ainsi que les arguments mobilisés par les différents acteurs lors des débats

Formalising the informal through legal practice. The case of prostitution in authoritarian Tunisia

This article explores the dynamics of the law in action beyond the binary formal/informal, using Tunisian jurisprudence in the field of prostitution as a case study. It examines what the formal/informal distinction means in an authoritarian context where formal norms contrast significantly with informal norms: do judges apply the formal norm, or do they apply the informal one, and if so, how do they justify this? This article argues that judges instrumentalise a formal norm (i.e. the ban on prostitution) to impose an informal one (prohibiting extra-marital sex). As a result, the norm prohibiting extra-marital sex can no longer be situated in the formal/informal divide: it is not informal, as judges are State officials punishing the violation of this norm; and it is not formal either, since the norm does not form part of legislation and Tunisian judges, exercising their profession in a civil law country, do not make law.</p

Production judiciaire des normes et vigilance de la société civile : Le cas de la sexualité en Tunisie

Depuis 2011, les débats publics tunisiens sont rythmés par des polémiques, notamment sur le traitement judiciaire d’affaires de mœurs. Cet article vérifie l’hypothèse d’une rupture avec les pratiques judiciaires des années 2000. À partir des pratiques judiciaires en droit de la famille et en droit pénal, l’article examine comment, avant 2011, les juges tunisiens ont contrôlé les mœurs sexuelles, tant au sein du mariage que pour les couples non-mariés, à travers leur interprétation des dispositions du Code du Statut Personnel et du Code pénal.Since 2011, Tunisia has been marked by numerous polemics, in particular on judicial practice in the field of sexual morals. The present article tests the hypothesis of a rupture with judicial practice in the years 2000. On the basis of empirical data concerning practices in the field of family law and penal law, the article examines how, before 2011, judges, through their interpretation of particular articles in the Code of Personal Status and the Penal Code, controlled sexual morals both within marriage and outside

A natural history study of paediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease over 10 years

Background & Aims: The long-term outcome of paediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has not been well established. Between 2008 and 2012, an unselected cohort of 133 children with severe obesity was screened for NAFLD. The aim of this study was to determine the 10-year natural history of NAFLD in this cohort. Methods: All 133 participants of the original study were approached. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis® (ELF) test were used to assess longitudinal changes in steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. Risk factors for disease progression were explored. Results: Fifty-one of the 133 participants (38%) from the original cohort were included. The mean follow-up time was 10.3 years (range 7–13 years), 65% were female and 92% had persistent obesity. The proportion of participants with steatosis remained unchanged (47%). Nine individuals developed steatosis and in nine individuals steatosis resolved. Predefined relevant individual changes in 1H-MRS were seen in 38% of the participants. The mean ELF test did not change significantly (8.70 ± 0.58 vs. 8.51 ± 0.71, p = 0.22). However, 16% had a relevant increase in ELF test and 6% of those with NAFLD developed advanced fibrosis at follow-up. Changes in steatosis correlated with changes in established metabolic risk factors, alanine aminotransferase, and bariatric surgery. A change in the ELF test was associated with a change in triglycerides. Conclusions: This 10-year follow-up study shows that one-third of the young adults who had childhood obesity develop steatosis and in one-third steatosis resolves. Six percent of those with NAFLD had developed advanced fibrosis at follow-up. These data underscore the importance of screening for NAFLD and monitoring for progression to advanced NAFLD in young people with obesity. Impact and implications: Childhood obesity accompanied by fat accumulation in the liver persists into young adulthood in the vast majority, and 6% develop serious liver injury. Worsening of metabolic disturbances increases the risk of liver injury

Femmes et droit dans les Afriques musulmanes

Dans les Afriques musulmanes, les réformes juridiques relatives à l’égalité des sexes confrontent les États à une problématique similaire : se conformer aux standards internationaux de non-discrimination tout en préservant les normes coutumières et religieuses. Ces processus révèlent combien les règles de droit ne sont pas neutres mais le fruit d’une lutte entre différents acteurs sociaux et politiques, dans laquelle les femmes prennent toute leur part. À la fois cibles et actrices des réformes, elles ont recours à des argumentaires et répertoires d’action tributaires de la diversité des architectures juridiques et politiques des pays concernés, de la place que la loi islamique y occupe, mais aussi des domaines du droit en jeu ou encore de l’ancrage historique des mobilisations de femmes. En considérant les processus de réforme à partir d’une triple perspective (mise à l’agenda, mobilisations, application), les textes de ce numéro s’attachent à analyser le degré d’influence des normes internationales, les spécificités des mobilisations juridiques des femmes dans ces pays à majorité musulmane, mais aussi le rôle que peut jouer — ou non — le droit dans la reconfiguration des rapports de genre. En contextualisant les appels contemporains à l’application de la charia comme ressource ou contrainte pour la réforme, les contributions analysent également la norme islamique en restituant son historicité et ses appropriations plurielles dans les Afriques musulmanes. In Muslim Africas, legal reforms regarding gender equality confront states with a similar challenge: complying with non-discrimination international standards while preserving customary and religious norms. Such processes reveal how legal rules are not neutral but arise from a struggle between different social and political actors, in which women play their full part. Both targets and actors of these reforms, they resort to arguments and “repertoires of action” that depend on the diversity of the legal and political architectures of the countries concerned, on the place Islamic law occupies therein, but they also differ according to the areas of law involved and the historical roots of women’s mobilizations in that country. By grasping the reform processes from a triple perspective (agenda setting, mobilizations, implementation), the contributions to this issue attempt to analyze the degree of influence of international standards, the specificities of women legal mobilizations in these predominantly Muslim countries, but also the role that law may—or may not—play in the reconfiguration of gender relations. By contextualizing contemporary calls for the application of the sharia as a resource or a constraint for reforms, the contributions also offer an analysis of the Islamic norm which restores its historicity and the plurality of its appropriations in Muslim Africas

Dossier : États et territoires du politique

La « décentralisation » fait partie des modalités de changement promues par les bailleurs de fonds internationaux au Maghreb pour, d’une part, dégrossir les administrations centrales tentaculaires des États et, d’autre part, ouvrir le jeu politique local dans le sens d’une démocratisation des régimes politiques de la région. Depuis le milieu des années 1990, et plus encore durant la décennie 2000, elle a constitué un pan majeur des programmes de réforme des administrations locales mis en place par les pouvoirs publics. Si, à l’époque, la décentralisation a suscité débats et controverses, ainsi que de nombreux travaux de recherches, l’enjeu est désormais – dans le contexte mouvant des « printemps arabes » et des appels à une transformation de l’organisation des pouvoirs – de comprendre comment les dirigeants politiques et cadres des administrations centrales et locales (re)considèrent sa mise en oeuvre. Plus précisément, la question que nous nous proposons d’examiner dans ce dossier est celle des effets des mobilisations populaires sur la production d’une nouvelle donne territoriale, en focalisant l’analyse tant sur les modalités des mobilisations politiques que sur le décryptage des réponses apportées par les autorités publiques à la crise politique dans sa dimension territoriale. Or, faire face à une telle interrogation ne relève pas de l’évidence, dès lors que les mobilisations populaires des « printemps arabes » peuvent être lues comme une demande, à la fois, d’autonomie locale et d’un «plus d’État»