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In pictures: Tunisians protest rape trial

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Tunis to protest the trial of a raped woman now accused of indecency.

Tunisian civil society groups expressed outrage at the trial of the woman.
By Rabii Kalboussi
Published On 3 Oct 2012

The trial of a woman who says policemen raped her, and is now being accused of indecency, has drawn a crowd of protestors in Tunis on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old woman says three police officers stopped her in a car last month, and one of them held her fiance back while the other two raped her.

The police officers deny the charges, alleging that the woman in question was engaged in immoral behaviour with her fiance when they stopped her.

The case has drawn nationwide attention as the governing Islamist-led coalition endeavours to write a new constitution, leading many to question how it will define women’s rights.

Hundreds of protestors gathered today at the central Tunis courthouse in a show of support to demonstrate their indignation and uphold the rights of Tunisian women.

Protesters expressed their fears that the government has been attempting to limit women’s rights. The poster on the left reads: "In my country the police rape me and the courts accuse me."
Tunisian feminist groups have accused the police of regularly harassing women, who bother them about what they are wearing or being unaccompanied by family members at night.
The Interior Ministry said that before the alleged rape took place, the woman and her fiance were found in an "immoral position", which activists have decried as an attempt to shift blame away from the police officers.
Activists say the case is an outrage in democratic Tunisia, and a sign of growing religious conservatism since the coalition government took power last year.
The demonstrators hoisted messages and slogans defending the woman(***)s right to justice.
“The victim is turning into the accused”, protestors chanted. Tunisia is widely believed to have among the most progressive laws regarding women in the Arab world.
Activists present said they questioned the seriousness of the government(***)s commitment to applying the national plan to combat violence against women. According to the organisers, the protest is meant to call attention to the fragile status of women in the North African country.