Bad mothers vs good mothers of the nation: The dual faces of Tunisian women in terrorism and in preventing extremism

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to critically examine how gender influences the interpretation and representation of women’s violence within the Tunisian public discourse. Far from being gender-neutral, the counterterrorism discourse perpetuates entrenched patriarchal hierarchies, amplifying imbalanced power dynamics within society. The study, utilizing tools from feminist critical discourse analysis, aims to shed light on how female involvement is depicted in public discussions on terrorism in Tunisia, and how this affects counterterrorism strategies and preventive measures in the post-revolutionary setting. This is achieved primarily by scrutinizing the discourse of jihād al-nikāḥ, and by exploring women’s roles in programmes aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE). Emphasis is given to the depiction of women as mothers – viewed negatively when embracing political violence and positively when engaging in extremism prevention initiatives. While one narrative often paints women merely as victims or brainwashed entities, the PVE policies acknowledge women’s agency but instrumentalize it for security-oriented objectives.

KEYWORDS:

• Terrorist women
• feminist critical discourse analysis
• jihād al-nikāḥ
• Tunisia
• preventing violent extremism (PVE)
• gender

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I extend my heartfelt thanks to all individuals who have contributed to this research. My gratitude is also particularly owed to the anonymous reviewers for their generous insights, which have significantly enhanced this article. Furthermore, I would like to express my special appreciation to Renata Pepicelli and Alice Martini for all the perspectives and inspirations they have shared with me over the years of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The code, initiated during Habib Bourguiba’s post-colonial rule, marked a crucial step towards gender equality by eliminating polygamy, introducing judicial divorce for women, and requiring consent for marriage.

2. While it would have been interesting to include President Moncef Marzouki’s tenure because of the period relevance (from December 13, 2011, to December 31, 2014), this was not feasible. The speeches of President Marzouki were not systematically documented by the official communication channels of the Presidency of the Republic, which is why they were not included in the study.

3. Presidential speeches are available in both oral and written forms on the official website of the presidency, which is located at: https://www.carthage.tn/.

4. The parliamentary discussions have been made accessible in French through the Parliamentary observatory program, provided by the organization Al-Bawsala ‘Marsad al-Majles’. Transcriptions of the debates related to bills 22/2015 can be accessed at: https://majles.marsad.tn/fr/legislation/2015/22.

5. Eventually Othman el Battikh was subsequently relieved of his position and replaced. This move was broadly perceived as a retaliatory action, primarily attributed to his involvement in bringing attention to the emigration of young individuals to Syria during the Troika Government’s tenure.

6. Lofti ben Jeddou, Former Ministry of interior. In ‘Jihad Al-Nikah’: Tunisian Minister Confirms Trafficking Girls’ Network To Syria For Sexual Jihad’ Youtube video (19/03/2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PWsNAQYhZA

7. Feminist ATFD militant. Speech delivered in the conference ‘Trois Regards sur l’extrémisme violent en Tunisie’ organized by the Observatoire de Prévention des Violences Extrémistes (OPEV) and held on January 25, 2018, at the Hôtel Majestic, Tunis.

8. Interview with an academic expert on female jihad. Tunis, April, 2019.

9. Fethia Saïdi cited in Habib, H.‘Derrière le voile, la prostitution. Jihad Nikah en Syrie’ (La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

10. Al-Jarida, ‘Ḫaṭīr.ʿaudat tunisiyat jihād al-Nikaḥ ḥawāmil taḫ luq Azma dāḫl tūnis’ (20/09/2013).

11. Al-Jarida, ‘Fīdyū: zawjātu dāʿiši yaks̱af̱na ʿan ḫubāya l-zawāji wal-sabbi dāḫilat al-tanẓīmi’ (15/07/2017).

12. Raja Ben Slama cited in Habib, H., ‘Derrière le voile, la prostitution. Jihad nikah en Syrie’ (La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

13. Al-Jarida ‘Qiṣṣat dāʿishīyat farrat min jihaḍ al-nikāḥ li-inqāẓ ṭiflaha’ (Al-Jarida 15/05/2016).

14. Béji Caïd Essebsi in Essebsi B.C. and Chabot, A. Tunisie: la démocratie en terre d’islam. Paris: Plon, 2016, 59.

15. Filali, A. ‘Le Repos du « Guerrier »’(La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

16. Interview with an academic expert on female jihad. Tunis, April, 2019.

17. Al-Jarida‘Ḫaṭīr.ʿaudat tunisiyat jihād al-nikaḥ ḥawāmil taḫ luq Azma dāḫl tūnis’ (Al-Jarida 20/09/2013).

18. Habib, H.‘Derrière le voile, la prostitution. Jihad Nikah en Syrie’ (La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

19. Al-Maysawi, A. H., ‘ʿAudat ḍaḥaya jihād al-nikāḥ : kašafat al-mustawr al-faḍiḥa’ (Al-Chourouk, 22/09/2014).

20. Habib, H.‘Derrière le voile, la prostitution. Jihad Nikah en Syrie’ (La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

21. Filali, A. ‘Le Repos du « Guerrier »’(La Presse de Tunisie, 26/09/2013).

22. Béji Caïd Essebsi, in Tunivision : “Béji Caid Essebsi s’exprime sur le ‘jihad du nikah’ Youtube video (23/09/2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cZMftttn_c&t=32s

23. Honourable Rabha Ben Hassine (Nidaa Tounes) in ‘Continuation of the Review of the Organic Bill No. 22/2015 on Combating Terrorism and the Repression of Money Laundering’ (08/07/2015) https://majles.marsad.tn/fr/event/2015/07/08/10/droits-libertes

24. Honourable Naoufel Jammali (Ennahda) in ‘Continuation of the Review of the Organic Bill No. 22/2015 on Combating Terrorism and the Repression of Money Laundering’ (08/07/2015) https://majles.marsad.tn/fr/event/2015/07/08/10/droits-libertes

25. Ministère de l’Interieur- Tunisie. ‘Beya’, YouTube video (26/11/2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjYGcjVN_Bw.

26. Interview with anonymous mother, Tunis, January, 2018.

27. Interview with anonymous mother, Tunis, January, 2018.

28. Interview with Tunisian Psychologist and PVE practitioner, Tunis, May, 2019.