Tunisia Women Make Strides

 

By Brent Hurd

Throughout the ancient medina of Tunis, sleepy-eyed shopkeepers thrust open their doors for another day of commerce. The narrow walkways are empty but will soon be flooded with shoppers -- locals as well as thousands of tourists. They will be tantalized¹ by an array of goods, including pottery², sweets, traditional clothing and copper³ plates with scenes from the Sahara desert. 

While women prepare to sell carpets made by hand, they are also active in other realms of Tunisian life. More women than ever will be entering the halls of parliament as a result of last month's election. Nearly one of four members of parliament are women.

Tunisian women have been active in public life and the work force for decades.  Hela is a 25-year-old electrical engineering student from Tunis. "If you are a woman, you can do anything," she said. "You can go to school. You can become a doctor. You can become a lawyer. You can vote. You can drive your car. They have the same right of owning their own properties and running their own business. In Tunisia, you can see women everywhere, in every field, in politics including ministers and ambassadors. They are very active in the government."

Tunisian history took a dramatic turn when a charismatic leader named Habib Bourguiba helped his country gain independence from France in 1956. As the first president, he was determined⁴ to foster a modern society based on a relaxed interpretation⁵ of Islam. He reached out to trade with Europe and implemented⁶ a serious of measures that earned him the title 'liberator⁷ of women.'

Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York city specializes in women's issues. She says Mr. Bourguiba single-handedly changed the role of women in Tunisian society, much as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk did in modern Turkey. "Tunisia is a country that has been able to push through a lot of these progressive policies on women because it had a very autocratic leader that believed in them and pushed it on its people. Women are now reaching a status in society where they feel comfortable running for office and society feels comfortable putting them there."
 
President Bourguiba outlawed⁸ polygamy and restricted the tradition of arranged marriages. He considered the hejab [veil worn by Muslim women] demeaning and banned it from schools. He also encouraged equal education for men and women. 

Although fundamental Muslims resisted such swift change, his government cracked down on those who wanted to mix religion with politics. During his three decades in power until 1987, his government often dealt severe punishments to Islamic opposition⁹ leaders. The government continues such crackdowns, particularly in the long shadow of violence brought about by Islamic militancy¹⁰ in next-door Algeria.

Today's leader, President Ben Ali also upholds women's rights. He has set aside more than 20 percent of parliament's seats for women.
 
Isobel Coleman says despite such advances in countries like Tunisia, Arab women in general still have a long way to go. The literacy rate of women in the Arab world is around 50 percent. She says that statistic¹¹ masks the real gains women have made. "I think there are gross stereotypes¹² of women from that part of the world -- that people view all Arab women as veiled and submissive," she said. "That is simply not true. If you look around the region, whether women are veiled or not veiled, there are women playing a very important and outspoken¹³ role in political and economic reform throughout the area in Morocco and Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt, Qatar and even in Saudi Arabia."

Kareen Jabre monitors the participation¹⁴ of women in politics for the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. She says the Tunisia is leading a general advance. "We know that over the past five years the Arab world has been increasing steadily¹⁵ in terms of its percentage of women in parliament," she said. "In 1990, we had an average of three-point-four percent of women in parliament and today we have an average of six-point-nine percent which means three percentage points more."

 

 

注释：
medina 麦地那（位于北非的一阿拉伯城市的旧城部分）
Tunis 突尼斯
commerce 商业
walkway 走道，人行道
local 当地居民
tourist 旅行者，旅游者
tantalize 诱惑
pottery 陶器
copper 铜
Sahara desert 撒哈拉沙漠
carpet 地毯
realm 领域
charismatic 神赐能力的，超凡魅力的
autocratic 独裁的，专政的
polygamy 一夫多妻
uphold 支持，赞成
literacy 有文化
submissive 顺从的
outspoken 坦率直言的
Qatar 喀塔尔

 

1 tantalized   

v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The delicious smell tantalized us. 香味逗引我们。 来自辞典例句
• It tantalized him that she should have such a loathing for him. 她竟会这么厌恶他，这倒使他心里直纳闷。 来自辞典例句

2 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

3 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

7 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

8 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

11 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

12 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

14 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

15 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。