La ley tunecina sobre la eliminación de la violencia contra la mujer: la norma y el debate

Abstract

This article examines the social context and ideological debates revolving around the issue of violence against women in Tunisia, particularly in relation to the new Organic Law 58/2017 on the elimination of violence against women, enacted on August 11th 2017. Central to the paper's analysis is the concept of ‘subalternity’ and the relationships existing between a dominant ideological centre and its periphery. The paper hypothesizes that the law on violence against women is a 'translation' [or reflection] of the ideological dynamics of Tunisian society in its quest to interpret hegemonic Eurocentric narratives through the implementation of certain anti-hegemony practices such as dissidence and resistance. With these ideas, the paper looks at the social reality of violence against women in Tunisia and analyses the evolution of political and juridical strategies up through the enactment of Organic Law 58/2017, pointing out the law's main contributions as well as the topics of debate it has generated. Keywords: Gender based violence / Subalternity / Women / Tunisia