Hélé Béji notably published
Islam Pride: behind the veil
(Gallimard, 2011).
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I grew up in a climate of avant-garde Bourguibian feminism, within a secular Muslim family committed against colonialism for the republican ideal.
My grandfather unveiled his daughter in the 1930s, dressed her in trousers and cut her hair à la Coco Chanel.
At Independence, these emancipated practices became widespread and rid traditions of their sexist constraints.
In one of my books, I relate the following anecdote: on the occasion of a family bereavement, I see one of my cousins, whom I thought was emancipated, disguised as a nun.
The blood turns me.
To annoy her, I pretend to pull on her veil.
I had in mind this famous image of Bourguiba delicately revealing a stranger in the crowd, revealing her radiant face.
Today, such a gesture is no longer possible.
Because no one forced my cousin to veil herself, she did it on her own.
The veil that Bourguiba
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