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TUNISIA
Index → Middle
East → Supra-Saharan Africa → Tunisia
In rural Tunisia, the
matter of menstruation is shrouded in hishma,
shame; it is not talked about, and even in progressive families its
occurrence is met with interpretations involving “a serious and shameful
disease” (Gram, 1974:[p110])[1].
Afterwards, the girl is not allowed outside the house “for anything but the
most legitimate social reasons”; paradoxically, they are encouraged to dress
up and “look attractive”. This corresponds to behaviour of the father towards
his three-year-old girl, who “encourages a sort of demanding flirtatious
feminine behavior forbidden his wife” ([p96]). Whether traditionally tattooed
or not, “little girls are encouraged to think of themselves as objects,
played with and decorated by their male relations”. Her transition to adolescence would be
“hardly noticeable”.
Janssen,
D. F., Growing Up Sexually. VolumeI. World Reference Atlas. 0.2 ed. 2004. Berlin:
Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology
Last
revised: Dec 2004
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