Sidi Abdallah Guech

Sidi Abdallah Guech street, officially known as "Impasse Sidi Abdallah Gueche" (Arabic : زنقة سيدي عبد الله قش), is the legal red light district in Tunis.[1][2][3] It is located in the Medina and consists of three narrow winding alleys.[1][2] There are rooms both sides of the alleys where girls try to attract clients. Only men (apart from the women who work there) are allowed in the alleys.[1]

History

In 1942 the Tunisian Government legalised prostitutes as "fonctionnaires" (civil servants). They were required to register and strictly regulated.[1][2] One of the regulations was that they could only operate from designated areas. Sidi Abdallah Guech was the area designated in Tunis. The nature is this area has continued until current times.[1]

Jasmine Revolution

Following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution, the Islamist government turned a blind eye to fundamentalist action against the red light districts[1]. Many were burnt down, in other the prostitutes were turned out and the buildings wrecked.[2]

On 18th February 2011 a large group of fundamentalists approached the entrance of Sidi Abdallah Guech loudly demanding moral cleanliness and armed with sticks and torches. Locals barricaded the entrance to the alleys[4] until police and military arrived. Police fired warning shots into the air to disperse the rioters.[2]

Since then the street sign has been removed[4] and a notice put up 'Closed on Fridays and during Ramadan' to try and appease the fundamentalists.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Omlin, Christina. "The Big Reveal". Qantara. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Battle for the Future of Tunisia". Spiegel. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  3. ↑ "What We Don't Know about Sex in the Middle East". Zocalo. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Abdallah Gueche renamed?". Webdo. March 10, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2017.

Further reading

  • Kerrou, Mohamed; M'halla, Moncef (1993). "La prostitution dans la médina de Tunis au XIXe et XXe siècles AAN" [Prostitution in the medina of Tunis in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries]. North Africa Yearbook , National Center for Scientific Research; Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim World (in French). Paris: 201–221.
  • Sebag, Paul; Attal, Robert (1959). L'Évolution d'un ghetto nord-africain. La hara de Tunis [The evolution of a North African ghetto. The hara of Tunis] (in French). Presses universitaires de France.
  • Soupault, Ré (2001). Metzner, Manfred, ed. Frauenportraits aus dem 'Quartier reserve' in Tunis [Portraits of Women in the Quartier Reserve in Tunis] (in German). Das Wunderhorn. ISBN 9783884231401.
  • Taraud, Christelle (2003). La prostitution coloniale : Algérie, Tunisie, Maroc, 1830-1962 [Colonial Prostitution: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, 1830-1962] (in French). Payot. ISBN 9782228897051.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.