Libya’s Interior Minister, Imad Trabelsi, has sparked controversy with a proposal to enforce mandatory headscarves for women and introduce a morality police to regulate public behavior. The announcement, made during a press conference focused on smuggling last week, has drawn widespread concern both domestically and internationally.
Trabelsi, who serves under the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), suggested making hijabs compulsory for girls from the fourth grade onward. He also outlined additional measures, including banning certain hairstyles, closing beauty salons, prohibiting public interactions between men and women, and requiring women to have male guardians for travel.
“All of our women are respectful, but there is a small category that is not respecting the norms, and we must act to correct that,” Trabelsi stated. He emphasized plans to reactivate what he called a “morality police,” though Libya has never formally had such a force. Islamist militias briefly imposed similar moral codes in the years following the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
Rights groups and analysts were quick to condemn the proposals. Amnesty International labeled the plans as discriminatory and a violation of international human rights obligations. “Proposals to impose compulsory veiling on women and girls as young as nine, restrict interactions between men and women, and police personal choices regarding hairstyles and clothing are deeply alarming,” Amnesty said in a Friday statement.
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Libyan public sentiment appears to align with these criticisms. Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, expressed doubt about the feasibility of Trabelsi’s proposals. “I do not think he would succeed in implementing what he is talking about,” Harchaoui told The National. “The situation might be intense for a while, but [the measures] will not be sustained.”
Harchaoui highlighted that many Libyans have enjoyed greater personal freedoms in recent years, with women increasingly feeling safe in public spaces. “Public sentiment has not inclined towards a strict interpretation of Islam,” he added, suggesting that Trabelsi’s proposals are out of step with contemporary Libyan society.
The international community has also voiced concerns. EU Ambassador to Libya, Nicola Orlando, tweeted on Monday that he reminded Trabelsi during a meeting of the European Union’s commitment to universal human rights and humanitarian principles.
Despite the backlash, the GNU and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah have not publicly commented on the proposals. As Libya continues to grapple with division and the lingering effects of civil war, the proposal has raised questions about the balance between governance, personal freedoms, and cultural norms in the nation’s path forward.