The Tunisian woman during the French colonialism.

This week I will analyze the role of women in Tunisia during the French colonial period.

France by signing up of the Treaty of Bardo in 1881 established a protectorate in Tunisia. Tunisia was compelled having to give up in to this condition because of the weakness of its military and its resistance movements, all this was aggravated by the state of bankruptcy in which it poured.

The impact of colonial influenced hopelessly on local culture thanks to the assimilation of the Europeans uses and customs. The French penetration and the subsequent struggle for political dominance they found strong class conflicts and they bring out the woman question that it’s closely linked to the issue of nationalism.

For Tunisian women Western influence has different consequences that it cannot always be defined favorable. But this process has also allowed changes as the weakening and disintegration of the social traditions and of male patriarchy that excluded women from important areas of public life.

The debate on the contrast between Western values and those natives, and debates on nationalism merged with women's issues; it and the issue of the veil merge in the history of struggles for the game colonial and resistance to Western influences. Another factor that has influenced the issue of women it is related to the intellectual and cultural rebirth, Nahda.

Between the nineteenth and twentieth century all these factors have led researchers and Muslim intellectuals to question the woman issue. They begin to discuss the need for female literacy. This is because the liberation of women is a basic requirement for the modernization and the liberation of the whole society.

It call into question the legitimacy of polygamy and easy divorce for the men; this is because they try to start a process of modernization of Islam. To be able to achieve this it was necessary to abandon the anti-feminist practices produced by local culture and customs for the benefit of Europeans.

The discourse of colonialism does nothing but change the language of feminism making key motive of its attack on the Islamic societies that keep segregated women, why are societies deserve to be subjugated or replaced.

It is strongly criticized the meaning of marriage as a mere instrument of sexual fulfillment. The object of the colonial language is to attack local societies. At the same time the colonized are seen slaves of colonial domination that exerts a gratuitous violence against their traditions.

All this leads the educated classes and the upper classes to discuss the issue of women. At the end of the nineteenth century, the idea takes root that the emancipation of women is crucial to put end the negative influences of a society controlled by males.

The change of women in Tunisian society is highlighted by clothing. Women are more visible in the public and in the streets, and their custom is gradually changing. The women from the upper classes have the opportunity to visit European cities without having the obligation to wear the veil.

Despite all these changes, however, the role of women is always subjected to that of the male, based on the concept of Islam on the difference between the sexes. This is thought to be rooted above all in the tribes whereas in wealthy families the women should receive adequate education and she can assimilate the customs and traditions of the West.

To have a tangible change not only the company but also the Tunisian law must wait for 1956, with the declaration of independence and the reform of the Code of Personal Status.