The government in Tripoli is determined to stop Western influence and protect Islamic values. Next month, a new "morality police" will be launched in the country.
It will monitor whether rules on women's clothing in public are being followed. These include the obligation for all girls over the age of 9 to wear a headscarf or hijab. In addition, women will no longer be allowed to go outside without a male guardian. "indecent" behavior between women and men in public places.
"Whoever wants freedom, go to Europe"
"Libya is not a place for personal freedoms", said the interior minister in the UN-backed government of national unity, Emad al-Trabelsi, earlier this month. In his words, "whoever wants freedom, go to Europe". Libya is a place of tension and heavy clashes - since 2014 the country has been divided, the eastern parts are under the control of General Khalifa Haftar, and the western parts - of the recognized government of Abdul Hamid Dbeiba in Tripoli, where restrictions are now being introduced.
With this, he incurred the wrath of the country's young people and women in particular. "I am a citizen of this country and no minister has the right to tell me to go to Europe when I don't agree with him", Libyan public figure Ahlam Bin Tabun told DW. "Libya is a country that should be governed by laws that apply to everyone, not by someone's personal opinions", she added.
The new rules are already encouraging men to put pressure on women in the country, say victims. For example, 26-year-old Yasmin told DW how an unknown man approached her and her boyfriend and asked them if they adhered to the rules of decency. "I was already wearing a long skirt, but after I ignored him, he dared to threaten me", says the young woman, whose name has been changed by the editors.
Zainab Tarba, a well-known journalist and TV presenter in her homeland, has experienced something similar - while driving her car, she was stopped by a male driver who made a gesture, pointing at her head, apparently because she did not cover her hair. "I was scared, apparently this man believes he has the power to hold me accountable", the woman adds.
Violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms
Human rights organizations such as "Human Rights Watch" and "Amnesty International" have warned of "a dangerous escalation of the already stifling levels of repression" in Libya. "The mandatory covering of hair after the age of 9 for girls, the restriction of contact between men and women, and the police control over the personal choices of young people regarding their hairstyles and clothing are not only a very worrying development, but also in violation of Libya's obligations under international law," said Bassam Al-Qantar of "Amnesty International". He said that the requirement that women only move with a male guardian, as well as the monitoring of their private lives, are human rights violations.
Libya's National Committee for Human Rights has already filed a complaint with the attorney general against Interior Minister Al-Trabelsi. "This is a blatant violation of individual freedoms," said the head of the committee, Ahmed Hamza. According to him, it is being done to divert public attention from the real problems and the severe political and economic crisis in the country.
For many people in Libya, all this reminds them very much of the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled the country until 2011. For example, the morality police will have the right to close barbershops or hookah bars that do not comply with the new regulations. “Today someone criticizes my hairstyle, and tomorrow they can start telling me how to dress,“ Ahmed Karkum, a 23-year-old Libyan student, told DW. “These policies create a suffocating environment that makes us feel alienated in our own country,” he added.
Author: Islam Alatrash