Tunisian Authorities Re-Enforce Ban On Veil

In October, the Tunisian authorities began to step up re-enforcement of a 1981 ban on the veil, with Foreign Minister Abdel Waheb Abdallah declaring that the religious dress 'inspired by sectarianism, foreign to our country, our culture and, our traditions'. In a separate meeting Interior Minsiter Rafik Belhaj Kacem also spoke against 'sectarian dress - the symbol of a hardline fringe that is inward-looking and a sign of political affiliation masquerading as religion'. While it is difficult to gauge public opinion in Tunisia, which remains a heavily closed and tightly controlled society, particularly in terms of freedom of speech, anecdotal

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