In the darkest corner of a quiet café in downtown Tunis, two lovers sit holding hands. They gaze at one another just like any other couple in love. But they are different from most other couples who might hold hands in public in this country: Ashraf and Hamdi are men.

 “I dream of getting married,” says Hamdi. “I dream of being able to have a relationship successfully and openly, without fear or horror.”

In the darkest corner of a quiet café in downtown Tunis, two lovers sit holding hands. They gaze at one another just like any other couple in love. But they are different from most other couples who might hold hands in public in this country: Ashraf and Hamdi are men.

 “I dream of getting married,” says Hamdi. “I dream of being able to have a relationship successfully and openly, without fear or horror.”

Since the 2011 protests that toppled the regime of former Tunisian leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, there have several calls for more human rights in the country. Still, rights for gay, lesbian and transgender locals remain a controversial subject. Gay rights are not considered human rights, even by many liberal Tunisians.

“I’ve been sexually attracted to men since I was a child,” Ashraf explains. “And when I met Hamdi, I knew that he was the right man for me. I just felt comfortable with him from the very beginning. I wanted to be with him so much that I didn’t even stop to think about how our relationship might be considered illegal or illegitimate.”

Homosexuality is not explicitly illegal in Tunisia. However, Article 230 of the Tunisian penal code, which was written in 1964, makes anal intercourse a crime punishable by up to three years imprisonment. Even though this article is seldom enforced and does not apply only to homosexuals, it hangs as a constant threat over gays in Tunisia,” German news agency, Deutsche Welle, writes.

Intolerance

Pink News, which calls itself Europe’s largest source of gay news, reported in February this year: “Tunisia’s human rights minister has attacked an online gay magazine while being interviewed [on TV]. Samir Dilou said ‘freedom of expression has its limits’ and said homosexuality was a ‘perversion’ which needed to be ‘treated medically’.”

“Why doesn’t society respect our rights?” Ashraf argues. “We exist. We are real. We respect others and we respect their privacy. Some see this type of relationship as a behavioural or moral perversion – but basically it is a normal, private affair and it’s all about love.”

 “Our society looks at us in a ruthless way. The traditional Arab doesn’t understand us. We are neither asking others to follow our lifestyle nor advocating corruption and moral dissolution. We believe in God and respect our religion, but our instincts, sexual preferences and thoughts have led us into a homosexual relationship,” Ashraf adds. 

Living in fear

Whenever the couple meet, they do so in secrecy. They can only spend the night together occasionally. And if they meet in public, they just act like friends.

“Despite all the precautions we take, I still think that some people are suspicious of us,” says Ashraf, who is paranoid the lovers will be found out.

Neither Ashraf, nor Hamdi’s families know anything about their love affair. Ashraf doesn’t want to leave home as he takes his familial obligations very seriously. Hamdi says he has considered moving out and living alone so that he could have Ashraf come and stay. But at the moment he cannot afford it.

The couple’s anxieties about discovery have grown stronger with the political changes in the country. Although many Tunisians voted for secular political parties, the secular groups couldn’t unite to form a government and paved the way for a mostly-Islamist political party Ennahda.

The Islamist influence

During the Tunisian elections held in October 2011, parts of the pro-Ennahda movement accused secular groups of defending homosexuality, even though, Ennahda said, “homosexuality threatened the fabric of society, culture and family life.”

Many human rights activists and secular politicians, denied they were advocating gay rights- keeping the entire issue itself in the closet.

Hamdi believes an Islamist influence on public life is inevitable and that it affects both same-sex and heterosexual couples. If Ennahda wins the next elections as well, then Hamdi predicts that Tunisian women will find their lives more restricted along religious lines. 

Ashraf’s not sure that everyone is against homosexuality in Tunisia. But he does think their lives have become more difficult under the present regime.

“Under the present circumstances, we feel as if we are targeted and that we might be threatened with death if the nature of our relationship was discovered,” Ashraf explains. “Tunisian society didn’t really accept this kind of relationship in the past; the current situation is even more dangerous because of the spread of more militant religious movements.”

Ashraf is talking about  Salafists, who advocate a more rigid reading of Islamic law and lifestyle. Salafists have become notorious for protesting anything they see as liberal or potentially promiscuous, and have gone as far as beating up artists, academics and journalists.  

At one stage, Hamdi and Ashraf say, they considered leaving the country. “We wanted to go to a European nation, somewhere maybe where same-sex marriage is possible,” Hamdi explains. “But we were afraid that we might not be able to get married there anyway because we are foreigners.”

They’ve thought of many other ways they could possibly make a life together but as yet they haven’t come up with anything feasible.