Tunisian tourism, gender and the contribution of postcolonial feminism

This chapter argues for the incorporation of postcolonial feminism in scholarly research on gender and tourism. A postcolonial feminist intervention can influence who, what and how we research alongside the understanding of the impacts of tourism on host women. This adoption is necessary if the academy is to move on from the Anglocentric, economic imperative and transcend the reductionist discourse of economic empowerment. The current discourse of empowerment in both academia and non-governmental organisations is critiqued for the reification of Third World women as disempowered victims. Introducing and mobilising postcolonial feminism, this chapter seeks to provide insights into how tourism shapes what it means to be a woman in Tunisia. In so doing, the complex relationship between colonialism, neo-colonialism and women’s veiling practices is unpacked.