Tunisia: Under the dome of the Parliament, sands
In Tunisia's People's Assembly, a man stands up, walks calmly, with a determined step before punching MP Abir Moussi in the face and kicking her. The man's name is Sahbi Smara, he is an independent MP and he went to a good school, i.e. where it is permissible to hit women without offending anyone. Sahbi Smara was trained in the Islamic Al Nahda party, the majority party in the 58-seat House. Failing to find his place in the ranks of this party, he later moved to the much more radical Al Karama group, which has a decent representation in the leadership and 18 MPs. Always in search of recognition and power, he decided to fly on his own wings and stand for election as an independent and thus reached the Bardo Palace. The Tunisian parliament, in the absence of a clear majority, is made up of several disparate blocs of different political persuasions: Islamists, democrats, rightists..... In order to pass laws and hope for a majority, alliances are made according to the needs of the moment. Thus, with the support of his former acolytes and the chaotic atmosphere of the parliament of this country that no longer smells of jasmine, Sahbi Smara, knowing that he was being filmed, carried out an act of violence against a member of parliament. But it is not just about one MP hitting another, it is about a man hitting a woman, and the symbolism is strong in this country where women are subjected to more and more violence and killed in near indifference.
The victim is an adventurer: helmet bolted to her head, bulletproof vest, she likes to put herself on stage and do live shows for her thousands of followers on social networks. Abir Moussi is the president of the Free Destourian Party (PDL - 16 seats), she is first and foremost a nostalgic of the Ben Ali regime and has set out to put obstacles in the way of Al Nahda and other Karama parties.
She is a divisive and provocative figure, and many men and women have refused to support her, some even applauding her aggression, forgetting that this is not about embracing Moussi's ideas, but about fighting for democracy. The one that will allow everyone to express themselves, to exist in this small country that was at the origin of the Arab revolutions.
But hitting a woman has become a common gesture among parliamentarians, where debates on ideas increasingly end in fisticuffs.
This is not the first time this kind of violence has broken out in the lower house. Last December, Democrat Samia Abbou went on hunger strike to denounce the violence suffered by her party (Democratic Bloc - 38 seats), "until the president of parliament issues a statement condemning the violence and its perpetrators", she had complained, without being listened to. The violence revealed by the MP was the work of the Al Karama group. And as history likes to repeat itself, especially when impunity reigns, Abir Moussi is paying the price of silence and the omnipresence of the hemicycle. But what is the president of the Desturian party really accused of? His ideas? His support for the old regime?
Sahbi Smara, by his own admission, was in the pay of the old regime and was part of its repressive services. Abir Moussi was beaten for being a woman. Because it is increasingly permitted, accepted in the customs.
Following the international outcry that followed these images of violence, the adviser in charge of information and communication, Meher Medhioud, declared at a press conference that the president of the parliament described this act as odious and unjustifiable, reaffirming his total rejection of any attack on women. But beyond words, how far will Ghenouchi go? Wait and see, as the Americans would say. But perhaps now is not the time to wait, but to act.
According to the Tunisian press, there have been 23 acts of violence in the lower house since last October. In the absence of a clear majority, parliamentarians are tearing each other apart and using force to make themselves heard. The Bardo Palace has become an arena where all blows are permitted. It is thus in a parliament fragmented to the point of splitting and in constant clashes that Tunisia's laws are currently being drafted and its history written. Women try to defend themselves as best they can in this man's world. According to a survey conducted in 2010, 47.6% of Tunisian women between 18 and 64 years of age have been victims of at least one form of violence in their lifetime: physical, psychological, sexual or economic, and the figures are below the reality. However, Tunisian women, unlike their Maghrebi or Arab neighbours, are at the top of the podium in terms of equal rights. Today, the world is becoming more radicalised and women are the first to pay the price.