Correspondents met with Mariam Bilali, general secretary of the Tunisian Women’s Party, to discuss the party’s goals and the reasons she founded it. She wanted to guarantee the presence of women in Tunisia’s decision-making process.
Why did you create a women’s party? Is there no place for men in it? Do you want to exclude them from political life?
Correspondents met with Mariam Bilali, general secretary of the Tunisian Women’s Party, to discuss the party’s goals and the reasons she founded it. She wanted to guarantee the presence of women in Tunisia’s decision-making process.
Why did you create a women’s party? Is there no place for men in it? Do you want to exclude them from political life?
(With a smile) No, on the contrary. We are not extremists. We believe that men complement women and vice versa. We cannot have a balanced, healthy society if we try to exclude one gender. We do not want and we do not intend to wage any kind of war.
On the contrary, we extend our hands to everybody. The important thing is to have a common goal and a strong belief in the role of women, their value in building society and the cohesion of the family.
Aren’t you afraid that the name of the party might hinder the participation and cooperation of men in it?
I will tell you a secret that might be shocking to some people: our party has some very well-known male members. I will not give the names of these men now because it is still very early. But I want to confirm that the party’s committee is currently composed of 50 members from both sexes and we have an open call for everyone to cooperate with the party.
What is the benefit of creating a women’s party?
Our party, as its name indicates, cares about Tunisian women as mothers, workers, and businesswomen. In short it cares about all women from all levels and from all ideological streams.
Through our programmes, we will try to be the incubator for Tunisian women. We will try to develop their capacities and build their personalities to participate in the political life of the country – hand-in-hand with men. This is especially because women have recently been marginalized and deprived of their right to be part of the decision-making process – even though our country is full of talented and well-qualified women. Our long-term goal is to achieve equality between men and women not only in political discourse and laws, but also on the ground, especially in the political and economic decision-making centres.
Isn’t the real aim of the party to gain the votes of women from other parties?
We did not come up with our programme to win elections. My experience with the work of civil society organizations has taught me that this kind of work will never be sufficient. I am not downplaying the importance of CSOs, but unfortunately the legal power of these CSOs is very limited compared to those of parties.
So we’ll try to occupy a number of seats that will help us embrace some competent women and bring them into the government. This is because some political figures have attempted to exclude women, refusing to pass the equality law, even though election law recognized the role of women and their eligibility to be part of the political scene.
You were not one of the women well-known for their feminist struggle before the revolution, are you?
I’m not well-known in a media, but I am known locally for my civil activism. I work with some charities that help disadvantaged groups who need financial and moral support. I was originally a businesswoman. My educational background is industrial design, but I founded my own company in marketing and communications. I was never a political activist and never had any such tendencies before.
If you never had any political tendencies in the past, how did the idea of forming a women’s party originate?
The idea of founding the party was initiated by me after thinking about it for a long time and considering the conditions in Tunisia after the revolution. I consulted a number of well-known personalities and specialists in many economic and social fields.
Can you give us an overview on the programme and goals of the Tunisian Women’s Party?
We will work to address the many social and economic problems that women face in their daily lives such as the widening of social inequalities and unemployment. We will also be involved in the cultural field, helping women artists, actresses, and innovative women to continue their march and to free them from pressures and threats. Our ultimate goal is to see women regaining their cultural status and their real roles.
The issue of women’s rights is in the programme of most parties, especially the leftist parties. What value does your party add?
We are not like other parties and we don’t compete for women’s votes. Getting into government will not be our goal or the main purpose of our work. On the other hand, we cannot deny that gaining power will help us overcome the obstacles we will face in the future.
What is the message you want to send on behalf of the Tunisian Women’s Party?
I stress that our goal is not power in itself but reform, mobilization, and reconciliation. We want women to reconcile with themselves first and men second. We will also seek to help women whose rights have been violated or who have been excluded from the political field, especially as we have seen male leaders fail in the political decision-making process while women’s capacities are marginalized.
I want to conclude by saying that our party is one hundred percent a feminist party not only in name but also in its objectives and programme. We believe that understanding and cooperation are the bases of success.
