Report from the heart of Tunis's red-light district. Prostitute from Sidi-Abdallah-Guech (Swiss Stories 2012, by Sid Ahmed Hammouche) - Swiss Press Award

La Liberté et NZZ am Sonntag.

Sid Ahmed Hammouche

Unique in the Arab world, Tunis has its red-light street, Sidi-Abdallah-Guech... For women living off their bodies in Tunisia, democracy is synonymous with serious problems. In the absence of police officers, insecurity reigns, and Islamists rule. In post-Ben Ali Tunisia, prostitutes are once again plague-stricken. Prostitutes once again plague-stricken Back from Tunis "I'll fuck your mother!" The insult suddenly erupts in this dark street of Sidi-Abdallah-Guech, the red-light district of Tunis, at the entrance to the souk. "I'll fuck your mother!" Zina, 40, a pimp with six daughters at her service, shouts to another woman. "Let us tell our ordeal. The world must know that in today's Tunisia, they want to burn women..." Tensions rise around this bleached blonde with lipstick that's too red. Her eyes are too heavy, her hair is tired. The other brothel owners located a stone's throw from the medina (Old Town) and especially a few hundred meters from the famous Zitouna mosque are protesting. They don't want Zina to speak to a journalist. They're afraid of crowds, of the neighborhood, ever since a France 24 journalist was almost lynched, they shout in this labyrinth of very narrow alleys that barely allow two people to pass each other. Anger of the locals On both sides, small rooms are lined up, in front of which young boys take a malicious pleasure in wandering around to feast their eyes. The girls sit at the door in very scanty clothing, some with their breasts exposed... "It took a battalion of the army to save this snoop from the anger of the locals," thunders another brothel owner. "They don't want to see the media prowling around anymore. And neither do we. Things have to calm down." But Zina doesn't care. She wants to talk. Exactly. Denounce the Islamists who tried to burn down these modest brothels four months ago. An exception in a Muslim country. Since then, the Tunisian capital's 10-dinar love women have been on edge. They're trembling for their lives, but also for their businesses, which have been in freefall since the start of the Jasmine Revolution and the attacks by the bearded men. These frequent attacks are part of a campaign waged by religious fundamentalists in mosques and on the web. Surfing in their own way on the wave of freedom sweeping Tunisia after the fall of the Ben Ali regime, they want to close this space of tolerance, lit by pink neon lights while outside the sun beats down on passersby with its crushing light. Customers no longer flock there as they did in Ben Ali's time, when the place was very popular. Today, Maya, Dora, and Malika, dressed in garish lingerie and wearing a simple scarf over their breasts, display their charms to entice passing men, but few take the bait. They remain alone for long minutes. Finally, Dora gets lucky. A shy young man in his thirties disappears with her into one of the two rooms decorated in a cheerful color scheme with dangling fishing nets and plastic fish tails hanging from the wall. Morale at its lowest. In the square rooms, there is a sink and, beneath a mirror, a gloomy bed. Zina shows us around her little palace and invites us to settle in. "We'll be better off talking," says this former prostitute before recounting her ordeal. "My morale is low. I'm very worried about our future, especially after the attack on Rue Guech. We're afraid for our lives. The Islamists wanted to set fire to our houses." They brought cans of gasoline. They doused our doors and tried to set us on fire. There were about a hundred of them shouting, "Allah Akbar (God is great). We must rid Tunisia of its debauchery." Without the help of the local residents who rushed to their aid, she wouldn't be here, she admits, terrified. Suddenly, Maya joins the discussion. The young prostitute, plump and heavily made up, no longer leaves her workplace for fear of being attacked in the narrow streets of the casbah. "This is the Tunisia of the democratic revolution. What have we gained? The fear of dying. The fear of losing our livelihood. Today, the Islamists have declared a holy war on us. They're playing at witch hunts while we practice this profession to feed our families and raise our children." Business in the doldrums "Why do I prostitute myself? "To relieve divorced men, single men, workers..." Malika says in turn. "I do this because there is no work in Tunisia for a girl like me, who has no training. I come from a poor family who couldn't pay for my studies. So, I sell my charms to survive." And how much do the girls earn? "A few hundred dinars a week" (around 200 francs), Zina replies. Times are hard. Clients are afraid of the Islamists who monitor access to the neighborhood. "The police who used to protect and monitor us no longer want to prowl the neighborhood. What's more, some neighbors with whom we lived very well are turning their backs on us." As a first security measure, some brothels have installed wrought iron gates at the entrance. And passing clients have to knock on the door to get in to see the girls. For Zina, democracy has only brought trouble. Insecurity reigns, the Islamists now rule. Today we are left to our own devices." How long will Guech Street be able to resist the steamroller of the god-crazed? The Salafists have already succeeded in closing the other brothels in the country. They burned down and closed brothels in Sousse, Kairouan, and Béja. In the cities of Medenine and Sfax, prostitutes have also been violently attacked. Some have taken refuge in Tunis. Every Friday, leaflets circulate in the capital's mosques demanding the closure of brothels in Tunis and beyond. In the Salafists' sights are also nightclubs like the Bagdad on Bourguiba Avenue, where customers come to drink alcohol in the company of prostitutes before going up to the second floor to consume... Tightening the screws in Tunis In Bizerte, the Islamists have already taken action by burning down the Eden bar and restaurant. They also closed the Damous nightclub. And the battle is only just beginning, promises Omar, a bearded 30-year-old. He wears a white kamis: "We are a Muslim country. And Islam bans prostitution. Like the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Today, we must close these places of vice and crime." In front of the mosque on Liberté Street, he distributes leaflets to lead other marches to demand the closure of brothels. A crackdown is coming in Tunis. I The disreputable street of love for 10 dinars... Sid Ahmed Hammouche