Three Faces of Tunisian Women: A Political Activist, An Entrepreneurial Family, and an Islamic Theologian

By Delinda C. Hanley

The Political Face

Mrs. Faiza Kefi, chairwoman of the National Tunisian Women’s Organization, is a highly visible role model for Tunisian women. She received all of her education in the French language and earned a degree in law. When she was 35, however, she began studying Arabic and English at night as she raised three children and held a succession of important posts in Tunisia’s Ministry of Education and the country’s first Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

The most exciting job of her career was her position as Tunisia’s general director of human resources. It gave her a global view of every sector of Tunisian development and enabled her to direct funds and support to vital projects that really worked.

On the international level she works diligently to coordinate efforts of the Federation of Arab Women and other groups, frequently representing Tunisian women at meetings of the World Bank and of North African non-governmental organizations.

Interviewed after a congress of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally in Tunis, Mrs. Kefi said, in flawless English, “My personal challenge has been to push women in this congress. The president of Tunisia affirmed his commitment to double the number of women in the congress of the Constitutional Democratic Rally. In the recent elections, if there was a list of five to seven candidates, we were obliged to vote for at least one woman.”

This quota system angered some men, especially those who lost in elections, but Mrs. Kefi thinks it is a short-term means to change the face of politics.

“Women have a new interest in political issues,” Mrs. Kefi says. “Of course, women are a little concerned about their new powers. We don’t want to seem aggressive or in competition with men. We want acceptance from men.”

Reflecting on the special gifts a woman brings to politics, Mrs. Kefi smiles and says, “When a man is elected, he wants to be in charge, he doesn’t feel the need to move from his chair. When a woman enters the political field, if she is asked to go to the rural villages, she just does it.

“She adapts herself to the situation. She is more human and close to the people. She demystifies political issues. She communicates more courageously, uncalculatingly. She doesn’t ask to be paid or rewarded for what she does. If you ask a woman of any educational level to put stamps on envelopes—she will.”

Unemployment is a growing problem in her country, Kefi says, and men and women need to face it together. Gender shouldn’t enter into it. Women haven’t taken men’s jobs. There just are not enough jobs for the growing population.

In Tunisia, says Mrs. Kefi, “men and women are equal in the workplace. There are labor laws protecting wages. If discrimination in pay occurs, a woman can contact the Council of Women’s Affairs and they will push, write, and lobby until the problem is solved.”

As for the reaction of Tunisian men to the growing number of women in politics, Mrs. Kefi says, “Men accept us and respect us. They don’t always accept our ideas but they respect our presence.

“Now boys are worried about the emancipation of women with no clear landmarks ahead. They don’t have the family and workplace privileges by rights of their gender that they see in other Arab countries. There are jokes about needing a Ministry of Men’s Affairs soon. There is a long road ahead.

“There is a macho mentality and patriarchal society all over the world,” Kefi continues. “There is still discrimination in the family and we don’t have all the political power we’d like, but step by step we make progress. But women are always in a hurry. We have a responsibility as women to be active, not passive, and participate.”

She is optimistic as Tunisia enters the next century. “We’ll need to balance the traditional values of Islam, family values and traditions with our political goals,” she explains. Women must make sure their families hold onto Tunisian customs, their sense of history, religion, and traditions as they embrace modern work roles.

“The next challenge,” Kefi says, “is to increase our presence in parliament, where we can use our influence to create the best laws and budgets for the family. We must help protect society from extremism and work for a free life, equality and democracy.”

Mrs. Kefi concludes: “Democracy begins when you respect your women: your mother, your sister and your wife; when you have trust in your daughter, and ambitions for her future.”

The Entrepreneurial Face

Amel Bouchamaoui and her youngest sister, Muna, are fascinating examples of Tunisian entrepreneurs. They were interviewed at the Tunis headquarters of their company. It is called Maille Fil, or Four Sisters, because it is run by four hard-working, ambitious sisters: Widad, aged 37; Amel, 35, a graduate of the University of Miami; Raja’, 30 and Muna, 28, both graduates of the University of Michigan. All of the sisters juggle careers and family responsibilities, helping each other out and sharing long hours and hard work as they win new customers for their cotton yarn and fabric company.

Maille Fil imports high-quality American cotton and transforms it into yarn. Then, still in the same factory, much of the yarn is spun into fabric, which their Swiss, Italian and German machines cut, fold and press into bolts of cloth.

Much of the material then is sent to their sister company, ZTK, owned and managed by, who else, their three brothers. At ZTK it is dyed or bleached and then sewn into fine ready-made clothes.

It is then returned to Maille Fil, which packages and ships the clothes to such final destinations as the Benetton Group in France, Marks and Spencer in England, and boutiques from Germany to Kuwait. However, 50 percent of their product is retailed in Tunisia.

Amel Bouchamaoui describes the launch of Four Sisters. Although the seven children grew up in a wealthy family, they were not spoiled.

“We were raised to know that we should work and do good work. We used to buy our ready-made clothes overseas, as did most Tunisians. Our older sister Widad thought that we should be able to make clothes here.

“Our father agreed to help us start the business, but he thought we should not just sew the clothes but start from the beginning with a spinning mill to make sure we didn’t have to depend on anyone else. We decided to use high quality raw materials and the latest equipment to ensure consistent, durable quality.”

They couldn’t compete with Asian cloth made with lower labor costs and cheaper cotton, so they decided to make finer quality material. Now it is of such high caliber that a well-known undergarment company in the United States recently told them their underwear was too good for its purposes.

The four sisters learned all the steps in creating garments themselves. “Instead of vacations, we take training programs,” Amel says. “You can’t manage an important company without experience.

“We could have chosen an easier way to live, renting out real estate, staying home, traveling. But then we do not add value to society. If we can improve the economy of our country by providing jobs and training workers, we improve everyone’s life.”

It takes organization and an understanding husband to balance a busy career and family says Amel, who is due to have her second child as this magazine reaches the newsstands. “Here women are dynamic and enthusiastic. They want to do more to improve themselves. Nothing is too hard to achieve.”

The sisters are active in women’s entrepreneurial organizations, and last year Amel represented her chapter in the World Women’s Congress in Toronto.

When asked if there is a glass ceiling in Tunisia, the youngest sister, Muna, answers: “There is equal pay for equal work here. When I told my friends in Michigan that there are no differences in pay here, they couldn’t believe it. There are more rights for women in the workplace in Tunisia than there are in the United States. There are plenty of companies run by women here.”

“Decisions are made quickly and everything is perfect down to the smallest detail,” Amel adds. “A woman cares more about the image of her company.”

When asked if men treat a woman differently, Amel replies, “Once a Swiss supplier did say it was more difficult to work with a woman because women discuss prices more! People are not treated differently. Either they work well or they don’t work well.”

Amel agreed there is no glass ceiling, “We have great advantages here.” Then, with a smile, she repeated the same thing Mrs. Kefi, the National Tunisian Women’s Organization chairwoman, had said in an earlier interview. “We need an organization for men’s rights.” Turning serious, she compared the development of gender equality in Tunisia to the evolution of racial equality in the United States. “In your country there once was slavery. Now, after several decades of affirmative action, both races have the same rights. This will happen here as women are given equal opportunities.”

Both sisters hope that more women will lead industrial companies in the 21st century. To help this come about, they welcome women from all countries to visit Tunisian women at work in their companies. They also look forward to American stores buying more of their superior clothing. “Everything is possible if you have good will and opportunities to work,” explains Amel.

The Religious Face

Dr. Wassila Ben Hamda is a professor of theology at Zeitouna University, a 13th century school built around the renowned mosque (itself founded 50 years after the beginning of the Islamic calendar) which has attracted Islamic scholars throughout its history. After secondary school, Dr. Ben Hamda studied at Zeitouna, following her grandfather’s footsteps and majoring in theology.

Her thesis was on interpretations of the Qur’an, Islam’s Holy Book, in Tunisia, examining the analyses of many scholars. She married another professor, raised a successful family, and now is a renowned scholar on the subject of women in Islam.

Explaining why there has been so much progress toward equal rights for women in Tunisia, Dr. Ben Hamda says that historically Tunisia has absorbed ideas from the successive cultures that have dominated the country. From the Punic and Roman empires to the French colonial era, each culture has left not only glorious buildings and art, but an impression on Tunisian philosophy.

“We are an Islamic country and true and faithful to the reading of the Qur’an,” she says. “Since Tunisian independence there have been reforms giving educational and personal opportunities to women.

“After guaranteeing women’s rights in the Personal Status Laws, step after step has been taken toward increasing women’s rights. Thanks to these laws, men and women have equal chances and dignity in their lives. Divorce is not up to the will of a man, but according to fair court procedure. By abolishing polygamy, the dignity and cohesion of the family is sanctified.

“There is no separation of religion and politics in Tunisia; it is a whole philosophy,” Dr. Ben Hamda continues. “We are an Islamic country. As you know, there is no interpretation of the principles of Islamic faith, the five strict rules for every Muslim.

“But as the Qur’an deals with social life, there are two trends of ijtihad or interpretations. One trend is to encourage interpretations to improve human life. For instance banking rules. If banking practices must change, you change them.

“Countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco have chosen this ijtihad. Other countries, like some of those in the Gulf, have chosen the other trend, and resisted changing through ijtihad.

“The head of state in every Islamic country is responsible for applying the rules of ijtihad to the government so the people have a good life. He is the head of religion because in Islam there is no intermediary between man and God.

“Tunisia is deeply a part of the Arab Muslim world. The emancipation of women and family planning have been done in consultation with theologians and scholars who found in ijtihad the source for reforms, modernity and development.”

When asked about the veil in Tunisia, Dr. Ben Hamda says, “As for the philosophy behind the veil, customs differ from one country to the next. In the Qur’an, the veil’s purpose is to protect women. In our country, a woman’s best protection is herself: her education, morality.

“Her country’s laws protect the morality of both men and women, so there is no need to wear a veil for protection. In rural parts of Tunisia you can still see veils, but it is by habit or custom and not rigid. In Tunisia we give women other choices and other means of protection.”

Dr. Wassila Ben Hamda wants to tell Muslim women in America that, like Tunisian women, “We are each fortunate to live in a country that protects our human rights and our opportunity to study.” With those rights there is a duty, she continues. “We must act as an example. As Muslim women we must grasp all the knowledge we can and give our best back to society.

“A woman is not a Muslim because she has a veil, obeys her husband and raises lots of children. We have the means to diffuse this image. A Muslim woman is knowledgeable and determined and she builds a nation beside her husband, not behind him. Muslim women have an immense responsibility in our countries.”

Delinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.