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Tunisia Lockdown Brings Rise in Domestic Violence

Protesters shout slogans during a march, demanding equal inheritance rights for women, in Tunis, Tunisia March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Protesters shout slogans during a march, demanding equal inheritance rights for women, in Tunis, Tunisia March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisia Lockdown Brings Rise in Domestic Violence

Protesters shout slogans during a march, demanding equal inheritance rights for women, in Tunis, Tunisia March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Protesters shout slogans during a march, demanding equal inheritance rights for women, in Tunis, Tunisia March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

The number of abused women has increased five folds during the quarantine imposed by the Tunisian authorities to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, Minister of Women, Childhood and Family Affairs Asma al-Suhairi said Sunday.

Between March 23 and 27 a hotline set up for domestic violence witnessed a hike in reported abuse of women.

Suhairi expressed concern that the violence rate would increase if the pandemic-related movement restrictions continue.

Tunisia has since the 1950s enacted laws on the empowerment of women, considered the most advanced in the Arab world. However, the laws are not fully enforced in a country where traditions outweigh laws, and a lot of women don’t report violence to safeguard their reputation.

In 2017, Tunisia passed a firmer law to combat violence against women. It has also dedicated a small number of shelters for domestic abuse victims.

The state has established eight such shelters across the country, Suhairi said.

The minister told the Tunisian press agency that the 2017 law will be enforced in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice. The public prosecution may force the aggressor out of the house for the benefit of the woman and her children.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.