Tunisia hosts Euro-Med forum on violence against women
2009-04-27
Government officials and NGO representatives from Arab, Maghreb and European countries gathered in Tunis last week to confront gender-based violence.
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis -- 27/04/09
 [Jamel Arfaoui] Women's rights activists launch an ambitious programme to combat gender-based violence. |
Women's rights activists from North Africa, the Middle East and Europe met for a groundbreaking regional forum last week in Tunis, where they launched an ambitious programme to combat gender-based violence in the Mediterranean region.
The three day conference, part of the EU-funded Euro-Mediterranean Program for the Promotion of Equality between Men and Women, concluded Thursday (April 23rd) with an action plan to gather data and provide more accurate and comprehensive information to governments, media and non-governmental organisations.
Attendees agreed on a unified approach to collecting information on violence against women and set out guidelines for surveys that participating countries, "especially Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon, intend to conduct".
The workshop recognised the progress made in Tunisia in the field of women's rights, and called on the country to "to finalise a model document" on its achievements, expenses and problem-resolution mechanisms so as to help guide other nations.
The attention of Arab societies to gender-based violence is still far from the desired level, said former Egyptian minister Amina Chafik.
Heightened attention by non-governmental organisations, however, has "made governments pay attention to violence against women", she added.
"We are in need of long breath and a change of mentalities, as this must be made step by step and firmly."
Hassiba Houacine, head of a department in the Algerian Family Ministry, said that Algeria began working up a plan to confront violence against women in 2005. The plan is now in its second stage.
"We are now about to start a new experiment, which is the establishment of a unified information system to monitor violence against women," Houacine said.
In Jordan, meanwhile, physical violence against women includes honour killings and rape, journalist Samar Haddadine told Magharebia.
"The government and civil society organisations have tried to change the existing laws that punish the perpetrators of honour killings," Haddadine said, "but the Parliament rejects that because it is dominated by conservatives and Islamists."
According to Faiza ben Hdid, a European expert in social gender affairs, one in three women is subject to beatings, forcible sexual assaults, or other attacks. In most cases, the assailant is someone known to the victim.
"One in four women is subject to attacks during pregnancy," she noted.
Sarra Jeraya Kanoun, Tunisian Minister of Women, Family, the Elderly and Children's Affairs, said that to "achieve a better understanding of women's rights and protect their future, change must come from the people".
"We need to strengthen people's awareness to take practical and effective steps to establish policies and joint action plans that can produce a tangible and specific shift in the efforts aimed at combating discrimination and violence against women.”
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Anonymous Posted 2009-04-28
The European Union could also finance a forum on violence against defenders of human rights and democracy without any discrimination between men and women. The question is whether such a forum would be welcome in Tunisia. We could always try.
Anonymous Posted 2009-04-29
Why doesn’t the European Union fund a pioneering conference which studies the issue of violence addressed to human rights activists including women, men and supporters of true democracy both men and women as well? Will such conference be welcomed in the same way in Tunisia? No comment.
imb Posted 2009-05-05
Violence against women is a taboo subject and a source of shame even for women themselves. They will never admit to it because the first question they are asked is: “Why do you stay with him?” “Why stay?” - that is the question. The real question should be: What laws protect women beaten by their husbands, brothers, fathers, etc.? The answer: none! When a woman files a complaint, they tell her that her husband “has the right to correct his children to educate them”, so she should not get involved lest she get hit “by accident”!? A woman cannot get a divorce because being battered – all of this is unspoken, as implied in the right of the father to “correct” his child to “educate” him. There do indeed exist beaten women, but all women keep quiet in order to not ruin their children’s lives, in order to not end up alone in a corner as is the custom, and in order to not die of hunger. The father will not give her a dime in order to get revenge because he was “violated” by his wife in front of “his own children”. It is forgotten from time to time that he is the one who does the beating! This woman keeps quiet in order not to wear the sign of shame of her face in front of her family, who will then say, “She must have done something bad.” She keeps quiet because, for the time being, she has no other solution. I indeed say “for the time being” because, permit me, I have hope that this is going to change once a forum is organised, once people unite to find solutions.
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