Sexuality and the Police State in "Halfaouine"

In Ferid Boughedir's film "Halfaouine", the main character, Noura who is a twelve-year-old boy, comes of age in Tunisia during the 1960's.  The movies plays a lot on nostalgia of Noura missing the previous Tunisia he knew as a child because the current state of Tunisia is controlled under a strict dictator.  The movie also touches upon Noura trying to be an adult in a world with separate spheres.  Therefore, there's a parallel between patriarchal oppression and the brutality of the police state throughout the movie.  One theme that I find very interesting in this film is the concept that "eroticism is a form of liberation."  At twelve years old, Noura still goes to the baths with his mother and all the other women in the town, and it is here that he begins to become aroused by the female body.  This movie takes place in an Arabic country, but sexual expression is very opposite than one would think.  Noura wants to express his sexual desires, like when he has sex with the maid, but he struggles with living in a society that promotes "penis dominance."  Because Noura is an Arabic male, he needs to suppress his desires in order to become a patriarchal figure, which will ultimately prove him to be an adult.  The irony that I find is that while typically the men should be free to express their sexual desires, in Tunisia, they have to suppress it while the women are free to enjoy the pleasures of life.  It is also ironic that Tunisia, still an Arabic country, has equal rights for women unlike any other Arab country.  It seems that neopatriarchy really does cause dysfunction because the males have to suppress their desires to be seen as dominant, when Boughedir is trying to say that everyone should "follow your desire".  In the film, we see women wearing the typical headdress that Arabic women are supposed to wear, but they wear it loosely and they even take it off.  This speaks a lot about how women in Tunisia are more control of their bodies and sexual desires than in most places in the world.  Usually, especially in Arabic countries, the men are in control as the patriarch, but also in terms of their sexual desires.  In many Arabic countries, men have multiple wives, and can have sex with whomever they please.  It is very interesting because in Tunisia, it is the women who are the ultimate temptresses.  We see this in the scene when the two young boys follow the girls at the market.  The boys and all the men are drooling over the women, not knowing how to act, while the women, even some younger girls, yield seduction and have control over making men want them.  It seems that while patriarchy does exist in Tunisia, it really is not as powerful as people think.  While men do technically control their households, they are ultimately pawns of the seduction of women’s sexual desires.  I think that this says a lot about how influential desires can be.  I think that this movie shows that desires can be more powerful than any other influence like the police state or patriarchy, which is why it should not be oppressed.