Are Women More Democratic in the Exercise of Power? A Comparison Between Italy and Tunisia 2/2

Besides, Meloni is against abortion, something she traces back to her Catholic faith, she has publicly supported pro-life events, and some ministers of her government, as well as some major exponents of Brothers of Italy, a right-wing political party, have publicly condemned the law that regulates abortion in Italy while presenting a bill to amend Article 1 of the Civil Code, according to which legal capacity is recognized at the moment of birth: they wanted to broaden legal capacity’s recognition starting from the moment of conception^[7]Aborto, la proposta di legge sui diritti del concepito imbarazza FdI. E arriva la retromarcia: “Non avrà alcun seguito” (2023, January 19), La Repubblica, … Continue reading.

In addition to that, she is strongly opposed to any progressive legislation concerning sexual orientation or gender identity; she argues that “gender ideology” is going to eliminate traditional family and motherhood, as well as the traditional gender roles of men and women. Indeed, motherhood is an essential element in Meloni’s politics, and it is present even in economic subjects. Meloni’s economic proposals only concern mothers, no mention is made of the interests of women who do not have children^[8]De Giorgi, E., Cavalieri, A., Feo, F. (2023) From Opposition Leader to Prime Minister: Giorgia Meloni and Women’s Issues in the Italian Radical Right, Politics and Governance, Volume 11, Issue 1, … Continue reading: one may observe that the major disadvantages and discriminations occur to mothers, loss of the job due to pregnancies, imposition of a part-time time schedule to take care of the kids, and so on, nevertheless this decision fails to grasp the problems childless women face at the workplace (like the gender pay gap).

Thus, Giorgia Meloni does not have a real positive impact on women who live in Italy, especially on foreign ones. Put simply, she upholds the patriarchal vision and traditional gender roles that many men want and would like to find in women; her victory as a female politician does not disturb or challenge their ideas, instead it reassures them.

The Tunisian case has a slightly different context, but there are some significant similarities to the Italian case.  Contrary to what the West may think, Tunisian women have gained many rights before the majority of their European counterparts. One of the main legislations is the Personal Status Code (PSC), legalised with the 1956 Constitution: the Code introduced fundamental rights such as the right to divorce, gender equality in marriage, marriage as a contract and the subsequent elimination of polygamy^[9]CODE DU STATUT PERSONNEL, République de la Tunisie. Moreover, abortion in Tunisia has been legal and free since 1973^[10]Warda, M., Zribi, N., « Avorter en Tunisie : une loi pionnière mais un droit non garanti », Inkyfada, 2022, … Continue reading at the request of the woman, up to three months into the pregnancy. Tunisia, Turkey and Bahrain are the only Muslim-majority countries in the MENA region where voluntary interruption of pregnancy is legal^[11]Shapiro, G., « Abortion law in Muslim-majority countries: an overview of the Islamic discourse with policy implications”, Health Policy and Planning, Volume 29, Issue 4, July 2014, Pages … Continue reading.

However, many issues still lack proper legislation, as feminist associations in the country reiterate^[12]Scalabrelli, L., (2022) Les changements des associations des femmes depuis 2011 et les relations avec les bailleurs de fonds, Université de Sousse, and some rights are not always respected, abortion is becoming more difficult to obtain, for example. Abir Moussi is a conservative politician and this translates into her public stances on gender-based violence, gender equality and so on.

Moussi has repeatedly attacked Bochra Belhaj Hmida^[13]Oueslati, B., Zouari, F. (2019,March 19) Tunisie : Abir Moussi, portrait d’une Benaliste convaincue, Jeune Afrique, … Continue reading, who is a member of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), one of the major feminist organisations in the country, and the president of the Commission for Individual Liberties and Equality (Colibe). Moreover, she opposes the reform on inheritance that has been discussed during the past years, the Tunisian inheritance code provides that the woman inherits only half of the man’s share. Indeed, Moussi says that she supports the principle of equal inheritance, but not as defined by Colibe because it would legitimise children born out of marriage, who could inherit^[14]Oueslati, B., Zouari, F. (2019,March 19) Tunisie : Abir Moussi, portrait d’une Benaliste convaincue, Jeune Afrique, … Continue reading. For this and other reasons, the ATFD does not consider her as someone who’s enhancing women’s rights^[15]Scalabrelli, L., (2022) Les changements des associations des femmes depuis 2011 et les relations avec les bailleurs de fonds, Université de Sousse.

Not everyone would agree though: in a recent field research of political science, a member of the civil society, who works in an organisation focused on opportunities for young people, said that having a woman at the head of a, popular, party is somehow a victory itself^[16]Scalabrelli, L., (2022) Les changements des associations des femmes depuis 2011 et les relations avec les bailleurs de fonds, Université de Sousse. Indeed, Moussi is an advocate of gender equality in political representation and her party presented a bill to recognise the principle of parity in the composition of the Constitutional Court^[17]Dalenda Larguèche: Des questions à Abir Moussi (2021, March 29), Leaders,  https://www.leaders.com.tn/article/31634-dalenda-largueche-des-questions-a-abir-moussi.

In fact, the case of Abir Moussi is quite an exception and it has not been accepted by everyone. Moussi was slapped and kicked in June 2021 as she was filming a parliamentary session on her mobile phone: the violence was carried on in the Parliament by two Islamist deputies, who then threw water and empty bottles at her. The event was caught on camera and left the Arab world in shock^[18]Abdelhadi, M. (2021, July 18) Abir Moussi: The Tunisian MP who was slapped but not beaten, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57835759. Moussi is one of the fiercest critics of Islamist movements and has been receiving death threats, something that led the Tunisian state to grant her protection through an escort.

Like Meloni, she fears homosexual couples could lead to the disruption of the Tunisian traditional family: she opposes the de-penalisation of homosexuality in Tunisia, today a gay person risks up to three years in prison if he/she/they commits a homosexual act, even though she stated that she would ban anal testing, except in the case of rape or crime. Moussi said in an interview that the de-penalisation could lead to the disruption of the traditional family and this, in her opinion, means that queer people could “even demand the right to marriage”^[19]Abir Moussi : l’homosexualité peut affecter le modèle familial tunisien (2019, September 12), Business News, … Continue reading, which she opposes. Thus, Abir Moussi’s politics is not completely favourable to women and gender minorities and her party lacks a structured set of proposals to deal with gender issues.

To sum it up, both politicians tend to have a conservative and traditional view of family: there is no space for homosexual couples in their legislation or proposals, nor there are policies that truly enhance women’s rights.

Differences between Meloni and Moussi: the role of religion

 The major differences between these two women are the role of religion in their politics, the importance attributed to their religious beliefs and, consequently, the spotlight given to those who do not share those ideas.

On one side, Meloni considers herself a proud Catholic Christian and deems her religion superior to others. She repeatedly legitimises her political stances saying that she is simply following Christian values: the values she refers to reflect a vision that could be labeled as conservative or even orthodox. It is interesting to imagine how her decisions would appear if the religion used to justify them was not Christianity: this interference of someone’s faith into politics questions the supposed secularity of the Italian state.

Meloni presents herself as a Christian mother, an attitude that helped her gaining popularity and votes. Italy is still a deeply religious country and many think that issues concerning civil rights should be framed through Christian lenses: under this worldview gay marriage, the recognition of one’s gender identity, adoption by a queer couple and so on, must be forbidden. Moreover, a woman’s image is always shaped in relation to a male counterpart (she is a mother, a daughter, a wife…).

Besides, every interference in the public debate by other religions is deemed as inherently negative or even dangerous. Particular attention is given to Islam, regarded as the most misogynistic culture, and to Muslim men; the instrumentalisation of gender-based violence for political purposes is facilitated by the recurrent use of news concerning rape/abuses committed by immigrant men^[20]Donofrio, A., Rubio Moraga, A.,(2022) GIORGIA MELONI Y EL DISCURSO DE MARBELLA-Un análisis de su visión del feminismo en Twitter y en sus discursos , International Visual Culture Review / Revista … Continue reading.

Thus, Christian identity is exploited and shaped around the division between “real Italians” and “immigrants”, “Christians” and “Muslims”, “civilised” and “barbaric”. Brothers of Italy’s identity is not only representative of what they are but also of what they are not, it is modelled by the contraposition of two blocks that seem mutually exclusive: if a person does not pertains to one category, they will necessarily belong to the other. This propaganda serves Meloni to obtain legitimacy for her policy-making, that envisages tackling irregular immigration and putting “Italians first”.

On the other side, Abir Moussi prefers a secular approach, detached by religion and loyal to Bourguiba’s tradition (and Ben Ali’s one too).  Like Ben Ali, Moussi does not want any interference of Islam in the political sphere and she has become one of the main opponents of islamist parties such as Ennahda and Al-Karama: as a consequence she started receiving death threats and now lives under a protection program.

Her clearly anti-Islamist discourse was able to seduce a large part of an electorate that was either nostalgic of the ancien regime or disappointed by a democracy that did not keep its promises. A recent research in 2022 has shown that there is a widespread sense of disappointment towards the current political status quo, and that for this reason many are nostalgic of Ben Ali’s regime^[21]Zanin, A. (2022) Classes Sociales et Nostalgie de l’Ancien Régime Tunisien : Facteurs et Manifestations, Université de Sousse. Moussi believes that in order to solve the economic problems gripping Tunisia, the country should completely shut down political Islam, because islamists’s politics, in her opinion, have caused the economic disaster that Tunisians experience nowadays^[22]Dahmani, F., (2022, March 22) Tunisie – Abir Moussi : « Le peuple ne veut pas du projet de Kaïs Saïed », Jeune Afrique, … Continue reading.

Tunisia is experiencing a growing polarisation with anti-islamists on one side, islamists on the other. The major islamist parties, Ennahda and Al-Karama, have long been accused to facilitate the recruitment of young people for the Syrian Jihad between 2014 and 2016^[23]« Tunisia probe into dispatch of extremist recruits reaches top Ennahda leaders », (2022, September 18), The Arab Weekly, … Continue reading. In this scenario, a political figure like Abir Moussi was hailed by many citizens, who saw in her a way out of the political and economic chaos that reigns in the country.

That said, recent events in Tunisia have drastically changed the dynamics of power, as the president has concentrated all powers in his hands^[24]Alliance pour la Sécurité et les Libertés, « 600 jours après l’article 80 », 2023. The political repression going on now has also damaged the Islamist party Ennahda, whose leader, Rached Gannouchi, was arrested in April^[25]Amara, T., “Tunisian judge orders detention of opposition leader Ghannouchi”, 20 April 2023, … Continue reading.

Female leaders: inclusivity or tradition? 

Giorgia Meloni and Abir Moussi are two politicians that managed to gain popularity in spite of the misogynist societies they live in. Meloni is the first Italian woman to be elected as prime minister while Abir Moussi leads one of the most popular parties in Tunisia.

However, their politics contradict the belief that women tend to engage in democratic, peaceful and progressive policymaking. Both of them have strong links with fascist environments and/or the authoritarian regimes that governed their countries; even though they never admitted being against democracy, their positions are ambiguous and often illiberal in their nature.

Meloni and Moussi do not promote progressive policies to fight gender inequalities and gender-based violence, nor they are open to include LGBTQ+-friendly positions. They defend a conservative worldview that puts family at the center, an institution that, in their opinion, is threatened by “gender theories” and Islam. Moreover, Meloni is close to her Christian faith and uses her beliefs to explain her politics, while Moussi is opposed to political Islam and is a strong supporter of secularism. The overall image that emerges from their behaviour and politics does not entail a more democratic or peaceful context, on the contrary it seems that their propaganda are further polarising societies and aiming to reduce personal and collective freedoms.

This case study challenges the idea that women in power will always be more peaceful, democratic, and progressive. However, this does not mean that all female politicians hold the same views and that one should avoid support female representation in Parliament: simply put, women, as men, are a very heterogenous group, and generalizations may sometimes be problematic or inaccurate.

Italy and Tunisia remain two countries with a strong patriarchal society, despite the efforts of some parts of population and civil society to spread some change. Meloni and Moussi managed to capitalize even on the sexist elements of their countries’ politics and build their images around them. Both can be considered successful and popular politicians, but the positive effect of their policies or propaganda on the general population is material of debate.

To quote this article: Livia Scalabrelli (2023). Are Women More Democratic in the Exercise of Power? A Comparison Between Italy and Tunisia 2/2. Gender in Geopolitics Institute. igg-geo.org/?p=13659&lang=en 

The statements in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.