Zawaya

Fundamental societal reform key to development

By: Salah Zeghidi

The Institute of Economy and Peace issued, for the third year in a row, its Global Peace Index for more than one hundred countries across the world… This index indicates the extent of progress of the sampled countries in all fields, taking into account the achievements of every country in economic, social, cultural, civil and political fields. With all its components, the index attempts to cover all aspects of peoples’ lives in each country.

Tunisia has emerged as a significantly advanced country compared to all neighboring and similar countries, especially those dominated by the Arab-Islamic culture… Tunisia ranked 37th globally, while Morocco came in the 58th position, and Algeria and Mauritania ranked over 100. Surprisingly, Egypt got an honorable rank by being in the 49th position…

One of the benefits of this indicator is highlighting the aspects that clearly shed light on the fall of a given country behind other nations and peoples that had gained a lot, over many decades, thanks to democracy and economic, social, and cultural progress.
It is only legitimate to wonder about what the countries of our region should do to emerge from darkness and cultural backwardness.

The answer lies in imposing drastic changes on the orientations of many fields. The backwardness factors of these countries are displayed on a number of tables issued by the aforementioned Institute. The premise should be improving women’s conditions and enabling them to have equal rights with men, without polemics or maneuvers aiming to keep our women in their stand. Everyone should be aware that the future of our societies in the coming twenty years is being determined right now through what we achieve – or not do for that matter – in terms of women’s rights. Today, we should rise new generations of women who are emancipated from the nightmare that has been overwhelming them for centuries… First and foremost, let’s stop hiding them as if they are an Awrah that should be covered… We have to eliminate all forms of oppression and discrimination that women suffer from in our lands.

In fact, a real revolution should be carried on; a revolution that requires a radical review of our educational curricula and political concepts, and a reinvention of the way politicians deal with the people, elites and intellectuals. It is not true that modern States, in their new positions, do not need intellectuals or elites, as they rely primarily on high level senior technicians and experts in the media field… We should also develop our political life to emerge from the quagmire it has been stuck in, while lacking scruples and principles, between the hammer of human authority and the anvil of the divine power.

Let a thousand flowers blossom, let creative energies at all levels flourish, and let our societies emerge from the darkness in which the advocates of darkness kept them, with the help of systems rotten by religious fundamentalism that fuel the values of oriental despotism and cultural backwardness… Let’s get out of the darkness, and everyone will see with their naked eyes theses societies evolve towards light, freedom, emancipation, equality and democracy. This is not impossible; it is within our reach… Yes we can, we really can! We can!!