TUNIS, Tunisia — Increasingly, critics say, free expression — a cornerstone of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that kicked off the Arab Spring — is now under attack.
For example, an art piece by Nadia Jelassi featuring busts of three veiled women surrounded by stones was met with a riot from Islamic extremists, who have called for Jelassi’s death and the deaths of other Tunisian artists.
Unfortunately, rights advocates and artists have said, the government is doing little to protect freedom of expression.
In May the owner of Tunisia’s private Nessma TV channel was fined for showing a movie that ostensibly offended Islam; earlier in the year two bloggers were sentenced to prison on the same grounds.
Critics complain the government does little to rein in religious extremists. And more broadly, they fear the ruling Islamist Ennahda party will capitalize on the religious divisions — and the elections expected next year — to pass a law to criminalize blasphemy.
Tunisia’s last two strongman leaders, who together ruled the country for more than half a century, cracked down on human rights even as they sealed strong ties with the West. They banned even the moderate political Islam of Ennahda, jailing many party members and sending others into exile.
But now, critics claim, Islamists are pressing women to conform to their views. On the streets of the capital, hijabs and the face-covering niqab are more common than just a year ago.
In a separate campaign, rights advocates are pushing to scrap a clause in Tunisia’s draft constitution that describes women as “complementary” but not equal to men. Jelassi views the two pieces of draft legislation, on blasphemy and on women’s rights, as twin fronts in the same battle.
“There’s a deliberate effort to roll back our gains,” Jelassi said. “It’s very worrying.”
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