Jeremy Assous
The Devil persists, despite the oust of President Ben Ali
Since the Jasmine revolution the return to political stability in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) has been extremely challenging. When the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt first took place, locals were clear as to their willingness to move towards liberal democracy with no intention of shifting towards radical Islam. Today it seems this unity is breaking up while extremists lurk waiting for a moment to seize power since their return to the political scene.
In Tunisia, women strive to maintain their hard earned rights as extremists attempt to shift the public opinion in believing that female emancipation was a thing of the past. One such extremist is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Ennahda Movement. As a result, sisters of Mohamed Bouaziz, whose self-immolation sparked the Jasmine Revolution, now campaigns on the platform of women’s rights.
During the early stages of independence, Habib Bourguiba, the first President of Tunisia, introduced legislation to modernise the country. These include the famous 1956 Code of Personal Status which permitted women more liberty (no polygamy, divorce, marriage by consent). Since then, much of the Tunisian society has evolved, with women gaining access to political and commercial roles. As of today, there are 18,000 women who own businesses in Tunisia. The Head of Energy and Climate Change at the African Development Bank Group is a Tunisian woman Miss Hela Cheikhrouhou. 27.5% of the seats in the Tunisian parliament are held by female MPs while 55% of students in Tunisia are female.
In Egypt, people are confused as to which political leader is a democrat or an extremist. Indeed many jihadists that were detained and tortured are now free with a certain desire to re-enter politics. They have changed their tag calling themselves salafists in the name of their pious predecessors (the first three generations of muslims). Kamal Habib Extol, newly self-proclaimed modernist salafist and co-founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, sees the future as a return to Sharia law in which “women stay at home, only a Muslim can be President and punishments are meted out with Islamic law”
Thus it may seem alarming to modernists that previously detained or exiled extremists are an influence on the foundations of new democracies in North Africa. However it is also important to bear in mind that in both countries the people stated that this was not a repeat of the Iranian revolution. The Egytian and Tunisian governments were overthrown primarily due to their anger towards corruption and poor economic conditions after nearly 50 years since their independence. Looking to the future of North Africa and after nearly a decade since 9/11 it finally looks as though Osama is dead.
