Reframing Gender Narratives Through Transitional Justice in the Maghreb

Abstract

Chapter 6, by Doris H. Gray and Terry C. Coonan, discusses the role of transitional justice mechanisms in Tunisia in reframing gender narratives. They focus on one mechanism, the national truth commission, and the roles of women in it. Building on in-depth interviews, they identify a range of complex debates regarding the status of women visible in post-revolution Tunisia in the context of debates over Islamism and secularism. They argue that examining transitional justice through the lens of gender is important not only because transitional justice has tended to ignore this dimension, but also because in the case of many abuses which women experience, there is continuity before and after transitions. That is to say, gendered abuses by the state, as well as domestic violence and sexual harassment, are not necessarily altered by political change, or properly addressed by post-transition mechanisms.