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Viewing cable 06TUNIS2175, Beywatch: Where Men can be Men: Cafes in Tunisia

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TUNIS2175 2006-08-21 12:31 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tunis
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #2175 2331231
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211231Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1656
UNCLAS TUNIS 002175 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/MAG (M.HARRIS); HR/EL DIVISION 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: SOCI TS
SUBJECT: Beywatch: Where Men can be Men: Cafes in Tunisia 
 
 
1.   The following is one of a series of reporting cables 
drafted by Post's entry level officers, which have the 
"Beywatch" caption.  We believe the perspectives offered in 
the following vignette will give the reader a sense of 
everyday life in Tunisia that may not be central to more 
formal reporting.  For more information about Tunisia or the 
Embassy Tunis Entry Level Officer Development initiative, 
see our Siprnet website. 
 
2.   Tunisia is a country that prides itself on leading the 
Muslim world on issues such as women's rights and religious 
freedom.  Tunisians generally consider themselves open- 
minded and tolerant and seem to eschew the trends of rising 
Islamic fundamentalism that can be seen elsewhere in the 
region.  They buy tickets to American pop shows in throngs, 
happily serve their scantily-clad tourists alcohol on their 
scenic beaches, produce a variety of decent wines, and have 
given many legal rights to divorced women and non-Muslims. 
Perhaps this is why, in a country where trendy restaurants 
are full of young Tunisians sporting the latest European 
fashions, and where, according the official GOT website, 
over ten thousand women are heads of businesses, it is a bit 
strange to note a cultural mainstay which seems a bit. 
traditional. Anyone walking the streets of Tunisia will 
observe the large number of cafes where every single 
customer is male.  Usually tucked back from the street 
without the benefit of a neon sign or a trendy facade, these 
cafes often spill over onto the sidewalks with men, young 
and old, lounging in cheap plastic chairs and talking. 
Smoke lingers above them, sometimes they suck gently at 
water pipes, small glasses of dark coffee on the tables in 
front of them as they lean their heads together and talk. 
 
3.   When Conoff asked some of the Locally Engaged Staff 
(LES) about the predominance of these cafes, and why they 
appeal to so many men, the answer was easy:  men want a 
place where they can be with their friends and discuss 
subjects they wouldn't normally discuss in front of women. 
Upon further pressing, the Tunisians revealed that perhaps 
it wasn't the subject matter that made these discussions so 
inappropriate for the fairer sex; normally the men talk of 
sports and work and other routine topics that bind their 
gender together the world over.  Instead, one female LES 
pointed out that in mixed company men often feel the need to 
watch their language, their use of "les gros mots," (swear 
words) and that from time to time they need to be a little 
"vulgar," as a sign of "Tunisian machismo."  They also play 
cards and smoke; activities that traditional Tunisian women 
do not participate in, at least not in public.  There are 
certainly places in the U.S. where the clientele is composed 
mainly of men, but the reaction to a woman entering such a 
sanctuary might not meet with such overt resistance.  For 
example, an Embassy official recounted that when he and his 
wife stepped into a men-only cafe in Tunis they were greeted 
with a chorus of displeased foot stomping and grumbling from 
the customers.  One LES female said she would never go to 
such a cafe because of what the men would think of her if 
she did. 
 
4.   Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these cafes is 
the admission by LES that there is a certain social divide 
between those who patronize them and those who are more 
likely to be seen about town with their girlfriends or 
fiancees or wives.  Places that are frequented by both men 
and women are more often called "salons de the" (tea 
parlors) and tend to be much pricier; with a cup of coffee 
usually costing twice as much if a woman drinks from the 
glassware than at a place where estrogen is taboo.  LES 
pointed out that most of the men-only cafes can be found in 
"les quartiers populaires," (blue collar neighborhoods). 
This trend has been attributed to the fact that the lower 
classes tend to be more socially traditional in their 
separation of the sexes and the norms for what women are 
exposed to.  Also because, amusingly enough, in order to 
open a cafe that would appeal to women you would apparently 
need to invest in "decor" and a cleaning crew: amenities 
which are expensive and unnecessary if one need only attract 
male patrons. 
 
5.   So while Tunisia in so many ways has matched Developed 
World standards of gender equality, and has expressed an 
impressive acceptance of more "liberal" world views, the 
presence of so many of these men-only cafes may serve as a 
reminder to those who would forget that it is still a Muslim 
country, based at least partly on traditions and mores that 
do not die even as western ideals inch their way in and 
Mariah Carey plays sold-out concerts wearing very skimpy 
shorts. 
 
BALLARD