Tunisia’s lawmakers deny any plans to legalise polygamy

In Tunisia, lawmakers have dismissed rumours of a proposed law to legalise polygamy that could reverse the country’s seven-decade ban on the practice.

First surfacing in late November, the rumour alleged that Tunisia’s parliament, dominated by loyalists to Tunisian president Kais Saied‘s conservative policies, was preparing a decree to legalise polygamy, challenging a cornerstone of the country’s progressive identity: the Personal Status Code.

Introduced in 1956 by President Habib Bourguiba, the Code outlawed polygamy, making Tunisia a pioneer in women’s rights in the region.

Islam has allowed polygamy for men with permit to marry up to four women at the same time. Most states with a Muslim majority allow the practice. 

The rumour seems to have gained traction on Facebook pages associated with groups presenting themselves as supporters of President Saied.

Despite being based on unverified claims and anonymous sources, it sparked a heated debate, mostly on TikTok and Facebook.

Some celebrated the supposed “return to Islamic laws,” while others condemned the rollback of freedoms under Saied’s administration.  

However, even lawmakers aligned with Saied dismissed the rumours and voiced strong opposition to changes in the Personal Status Code.  

“There’s no such thing. And if people keep spreading these rumours, we might instead propose a decree to achieve ultimate equality between men and women,” wrote Fatima El-Massedi, a pro-Saied MP, on her Facebook account.

Despite Tunisia’s progressive legal framework, the country still lags in ensuring full gender equality, particularly in inheritance laws.  

The debate on polygamy in Tunisia

This is not the first time the debate around reversing the ban on polygamy has stirred controversy in one of the most progressive states in the Muslim world. The issue caused heated debate in 2011 during the rise to power of the Islamist Ennahda party following the revolution.  

Tunisian women see any attempt to alter the Personal Status Code as a direct threat to their hard-earned rights.

Activist Rania Hammami has expressed concern, arguing that even rumours about such changes could be a way for the state to test public reaction.  

“It is clear that the rumour benefited from the general climate (…) considering the conservative approach in the authorities’ practices,” reported Ultra Tounes, a local media outlet.  

For instance, several Tunisian TikTok creators now face years in prison for sharing “inappropriate content” following a directive from the justice ministry that authorised public prosecutors to “take necessary legal measures against individuals using social media to spread content that conflicts with social values.”

President Kais Saied, in office since 2019, does not fit neatly into traditional political labels, as he likes to position himself as a man of the people. However, despite his ongoing clashes with Islamists, many of his views align with theirs, including opposition to equal inheritance rights for men and women.  

When Saied assumed extraordinary powers in 2021–widely deemed as a constitutional coup–he made women’s rights his priority, at least figuratively. He broke ground by appointing the region’s first female head of government to helm a 24-member cabinet, boasting a record-breaking ten women ministers. 

However, he later replaced her with a male prime minister and removed the principle of gender parity in elected assemblies. Since then, he shifted focus to battling corruption and “enemies of the state,” adopting a populist approach where gender equality has been relegated to the back seat.