travelistica.ae.com: People and customs in Tunisia The Tunisian People and Lifestyle

The Tunisian People and Lifestyle

Tunisians are generally proud of their country's achievements as well as of the tolerance and hospitality of their nation; however, there are restrictions on the nation as they are not really allowed to say what they think. Although the Tunisian government provides its people with excellent education, jobs for graduates are scarce and many graduates look forward for jobs abroad as a dream to fulfill their ambitions.

Tunisia is more liberal than other Arabic Muslim societies. Women have the freedom to either wear western fashion or dressed in a long robe and veil. In spite of such freedom, traditions still constitute hidden constraints as women should be expected to be virgins when they marry. Traditions and religion is especially most respected and observed in villages which are most resistant to change.

Tunisia's population has more than dou¬bled in the last 50 years. Immigration to cities has caused the cities to be flooded with people, however still over 60% of the population is still urban. Society values are today divided between the secular and traditional and religious values. The family is very important and respected with its interests come prior to that of the individual. When members of the family left either for marriage or work, they usually return for frequent visits. The government also applies social security that provides old-age and disability pensions, as well as free health care and education.

People usually admire the west for it achievements however, they also condemn it for the injustices done in its name in other places of the Middle East. Tunisians have a tradition of gracious hospitality which they got its roots from the nomadic Bedouin traditions of refuge and hospitality, as well as in the verses of the Holy Quran.

Concerning religion in Tunisia, about 98% of the Tunisian people are Muslims and thus Islam is the State religion, even more than 95% of Tunisians are Sunni Mus¬lims in addition to a very few Islamic minorities of Kharijites. The other minorities are Jews and Christians who make up the remaining 2%.

Many agree that the initiator and supporter of women's freedom in Tunisia is Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's first president, that's why he has been also titled 'The Liberator of Women'. He issued his Personal Status Code in 1956 in which there are stated the banning of polygamy and divorce by renunciation as well as setting a minimum marriage age of 17 for girls and giving them the right to refuse a proposed marriage. The code has further been updated recently in 2005 in which the marrying age has been unified to 18. Bourguiba also banned the Hijab (women's head veil) from schools as part of a campaign to phase it out; however recently, a resurgence of conservative elements has led to the Hijab being more prevalent, notably among young women.

Other conditions for women have been improved since 1956. The improvements included for example the increase in the rate of literacy as well as in health issues - infant mortality is only 26 per thousand births, compared with 139 in 1966.

The most popular sport in Tunisia is football and the Tunisian national team 'the Carthage Eagles', is among the strongest ones in Africa that has been qualified for the World Cup finals in 1978, 1998, 2002 and 2006. Tunisia has hosted the 2004 African Cup of Nations and it won the tournament (2-1 against Morocco).

Concerning the domestic competitions in Tunisian, Tunisia's club teams are among the best on the continent. The Es¬perance Sportive de Tunisie (Tunis) and Etoile Sportif du Sahel (Sousse) are the most popular and often dominate the domestic competitions as well as regularly reaching the final of the continent-wide club competitions. The domestic com¬petition start in early October until the end of March, with matches played on Saturday and Sunday afternoon starting at 3pm.

The Tunisian media is generally under government auspices, including TV, radio and newspapers. The TV has only two (Arabic-language) channels that are both controlled by the government. Most Tunisians get around this heavy censorship by hooking satellite dishes (often smuggled from Algeria). Newspapers have more variety, however equally censored, and there are both French and Arabic newspapers. There are some music radio stations which are for entertaining. Internet is controlled in Tunisia and numerous political and pornographic internet sites are blocked.

Tunisians' many different celebrations are accompanied by food that is served while celebrating. Some celebratory dishes are made specially for the specific type of celebration, such as zrir (nut paste served in small glasses) which is served after childbirth to help the mother to return to her healthy status.

Marriage celebration is very important and hospitality is an essential part of it. Celebrations last for up to seven days. On the fourth day of celebration, known as Outia Sghira, a bull is slaughtered to provide meat for the following days' feasts. On the fifth day, known as Outia Kbira, guests are served with meat and chickpea couscous followed by baklava. The sixth day, a meal is served featuring tajine, market ommalah (meatball stew), salade mechouia and klaya (meat and paprika stew). The seventh day, which is the big feast day, a lunch meal is offered to guests featuring pasta with meat sauce, and mloukhia, a dark¬green, pungent stew with powdered corete (aka mloukhia; a herb) that has a unique taste. When the evening comes, a dinner meal is served featuring couscous, followed by fruit as well as baklava and other sweets.